Fairy Tail: 25 Years Later
by KidTastic
Summary: After the great battle against Alvarez, the world has calmed down. However, no matter how peaceful, every era has to end. A new, unknown evil is rising, and it's up to the youngsters and their parents to save their guild and family. But next to all that, will they have time to save the world if needed? Will they be able to tell right and wrong apart if asked?
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Hello there! This is the very first story I've ever created. I've written one-shots before for school, but this is my actual first long story. English isn't my first language, and my brother is my beta reader. So if you find a sentence that's grammatically incorrect or just simply doesn't make any sense, please tell me and I'll fix it right away!  
**

 **Almost all of the OC's I created for this story are based on and/or named after characters from other animes, TV shows, animated series or books. Some of them will be painfully obvious, some of them hopefully won't be. There will also be some easter eggs from these shows.**

 **I'm a sappy teenage girl who loves love and shipping. This means there will be a lot of romance in the story, but it won't _only_ be about that. The first chapters are going to be slow, meaningless and not serious at all, but full of character introductions. Kind of how it was at the beginning of Fairy Tail.**

 **Please keep in mind that I started writing this way before the last chapters of the manga came out.**

 **This is all I wanted to say before we start. Also, _I don't own Fairy Tail or any of the characters my OC's are based on_.**

* * *

 _ **The Ridiculous Mission**_

 **"They're not 'key guys', they're Celestial Spirits!"**

 **xXxXx**

The sun shone brightly in the summer afternoon, birds were flying around town and above the sea. At the docks, many ships could be seen ready to sail, with just as many arriving. The port town of Hargeon was swarmed with travelers and ship workers as always, and the town merchants and fishermen were happy to be busy with work. Two Fairy Tail mages were trying to push their way through the bustling streets.

'Are you sure it's this way?' asked one of them.

This person was a seventeen-year-old young man named Storm, who was the son of Gray and Juvia Fullbuster. He had a lean, but muscular figure, messy black hair and dark blue eyes. The clothes he wore made him look like an exact replica of his father, without the necklace. He instead had a silver earring resembling a cross in his right ear.

'It's definitely this way,' answered the other.

The other person was shorter and had a feminine figure. She was sixteen years old, and her name was Luna. She was the daughter of Natsu and Lucy Dragneel, which could easily be figured out, because of her chin-length pink hair and round brown eyes. She wore a middle-sleeved red shirt with a beige short-sleeved, knee-length dress over it, and light brown high boots. A pouch was connected to her belt, where she kept her Celestial Spirit gate keys.

The two came to the town because of a job request. The client was a rich woman, who put a pretty high prize for an easy job, which was to capture a group of bandits. Storm wanted to take the goldmine mission before someone else did, but Luna also had eyes for this mission. Next to the obviously (too) big amount of money, the reward included an unknown Celestial Spirit gate key, and Luna just had to have it. The others at the guild were surprised about them teaming up for a job, since they rarely ever talked to each other.

'It feels like we've already been here before,' sighed Storm. 'Every street looks the same.'

'You might be right,' said Luna, her tone slightly defeated. 'The shop might not even exist anymore.'

The two of them were looking for the only magic shop in the town before actually looking for the client. There was a key that Luna wanted for a long time now, but couldn't find anywhere. She heard the story of how her parents met many times, so her last hope was this town's magic shop.

'There it is!' she suddenly shouted.

The small building was hidden between two apartment units, its blue roof made it stand out enough for Luna to recognize it. They looked through the window to see an old man sitting by the counter, sleeping. They sweatdropped then entered the shop, and the chime of the bell tied to the door made the old man jump up so suddenly, that his pointed hat fell off.

'Good afternoon! It's so rare to see customers here, after all the town lives off the fishing business, not magic. How can I help you?'

'I'm looking for a silver gate key,' said Luna while looking around. She heard a sneeze and looked behind her to see Storm coughing in the middle of a dust cloud. The shelves probably weren't cleaned in at least a decade.

'Gate keys, huh? Those are pretty rare things. But you're in luck, because I have bought three just last week!' said the old man grinning, as he disappeared into the backroom, only to appear a minute later with a box in his hand, which he placed on the counter.

The box looked so old that Luna thought he took out some documents from a century before, but as he opened it, she realized he was just simply lying. The three gate keys that now lay before Luna were _much_ older than a week, otherwise the dust on the box wouldn't be able to cause an instant coughing fit.

'Well, do you see the one you were looking for?'

'Yes!' she squealed as she picked up the middle one. 'The gate of the Canis Minor. How much is it?'

'30,000 jewels,' the old man said without batting an eyelash, and Luna felt her happiness quickly disappear.

'I'm sorry, I must have heard wrong,' she smiled politely. 'How much is it, again?'

'30,000 jewels.'

All hope inside Luna died as she accepted the unfair prize.

'Isn't that a bit too much?' asked Storm.

'As I already said, it is difficult getting by with working only at this shop,' explained the old man.

'Then get another job, old man, 'cause what you're doing is called ripping people off,' snarled Storm, and Luna put a hand on his arm, signalling him to stop.

'I'm sorry for wasting your time, mister,' she said in an apologetic tone, before she dragged the grumpy Ice mage out the door.

'It's not like he doesn't have time to waste,' grumbled Storm, then noticed Luna's sudden change in mood. 'You really want that key, don't you?'

She only nodded in response, and Storm sighed before pulling his wallet from his pocket and giving her half of the price. Her eyes widened and she looked at him with a questioning gaze.

'Go buy it, you can pay me back some other time.'

Her head bobbed up and down as she rapidly nodded, which made Storm smile. She rushed back into the shop and came out five minutes later with a new silver key and a bright smile on her lips.

'Thank you so much!'

She skipped over to Storm and gave him a hug. He stiffened and awkwardly put his arms around her, patting her back. She instantly pulled away, her cheeks pink with embarrassment.

'S-Sorry,' she muttered, looking away.

'Yeah, uh,' said Storm as he looked into another direction as well. 'C'mon, let's go and talk to the client.'

She timidly nodded as Storm took out the mission flier. They walked in awkward silence until they reached the client's obnioxiously large house. Storm put the flier away, rang the doorbell, and the gigantic doors immediately opened.

' _Bonjour_ , Sir and _Madame_ ,' greeted them the butler standing in the doorway in a heavy accent.

'Hello,' said Luna with her timid smile. 'We are mages from Fairy Tail. We came to accept the job.'

'Very well. Follow me, _s'il vous plait_ ,' said the butler as he led them through six hallways, three staircases, and Mavis knows how many rooms, before finally stopping in front of one.

He knocked on the door and opened it after an „ _Entrez_ " was heard from inside. He led the two mages in the room, then bowed before leaving and closing the door. The room they stepped into was an unexpectedly small study, with shelves full of colorful and probably expensive books. On the opposite wall were two windows, between them was a fireplace, with a desk and a chair in front of it, and two couches sat at each side of the room.

On one of the couches sat a middle-aged woman, matching the room's colors with her dark red dress and brown coat. She brushed her dark hair out of her face as she looked up from a book she was reading, and her icy blue eyes turned warm as soon as she saw Storm and Luna.

'Well, hello! I'm Madame Maxime. You two are Fairy Tail mages, right?' she asked in a slightly better accent than her butler.

'Yes, we came because of the job request,' answered Luna, smiling politely.

'Great! Let me tell you everything.'

She made them sat down and did just that, she told them _everything_. And when she meant everything, she meant her entire life story. She told them what her parents did for a living, how her husband was the biggest business man in the fish processing industry, the words her son just learned to say, and so on. Luna seemed to listen carefully, but Storm tuned out the unimportant parts, and especially when she used those weird foreign words. He got the information they needed for the job, though (group of bandits has 30 members, the leader can use magic, they steal from travelers and disturb the townspeople).

'Where can we find them?' he asked in a bored tone, aware of the heated gaze she sent him because he just cut her off from telling them where she bought the dress she was currently wearing.

'In an abandoned building near the forest.'

'Thank you, we'll come back after we've captured them!' said Storm as he quickly stood up and left the room, not wanting to hear her talk any longer.

Luna stared after him, then she got up, bowed to Madame Maxime, and hurried after Storm. She found him waiting for her in front of the house with a grimace on his face, that made her giggle. He lifted an eyebrow at this, but she just shook her head, taking a map out of her pocket.

After asking numerous people and turning the map around for a few times, they found the building Madame Maxime was talking about. It was oddly quiet and deserted. They looked at each other, Storm shrugged, and Luna took a step to enter the building, but the moment her foot touched the ground, a magic circle shined to life.

'Watch out!' shouted Storm as he tackled her to the ground, away from the exploding magic circle.

The explosions seemed to stir the bandits up, because soon all thirty of them stood face-to-face with the two mages. Their leader was standing on the top of the building with his arms crossed. Storm's eyes narrowed as he saw the ugly bald guy's confident smirk.

'Open, Gate of the Eastern Horse, Bumi!' yelled Luna with a jade key in her hand.

The sound of a doorbell could be heard as a big brown pony appeared seemingly out of nowhere. She huffed before running towards some bandits, stomping them down, using her magic to turn the dry earth into mud to blind her opponents.

'Ice-Make: Ice Geyser!'

Storm was faring just as well with his share of targets, proved by how the ice spikes he just created impaled every single guy that was standing in close distance.

While her spirit was working her way through them, Luna was surrounded by five bandits. She took in their position before jumping up, doing a flip and kicking one in the face. Her target flew twenty feet before hitting a wall, not from the force of her kick, but because of her Air magic. She only just started learning it a little while ago, but it was enough to power up her strikes. She waved her arms to send the other four flying as well.

There were seven remaining members, all of them looking unsure and a little bit afraid. Actually, one of them had pissed his pants simply by just looking at his buddies getting thrown left and right. When Storm glared at them, that one guy shrieked and passed out.

'We surrender!' said another one, and the six bandits raised their hands. 'Just don't hurt us, please!'

'What kind of bandits are you, anyway?' asked Storm clearly amused.

'That's what I was going to ask as well!' yelled a deep voice from behind the last six.

They turned around and started shivering in fear as they realized their boss was standing next to them, his previous smirk was gone and his hands were clenched in fists. His glare met Storm's gaze and he raised his hand to write in the air. Luna's eyes widened.

 _ **He uses Letter magic!**_

'Kan!' shouted the leader as he finished the kanji, creating a beam of energy heading towards Storm.

'Ice-Make: Shield!'

The shield made of Storm's ice broke upon impact, but it was enough to block the Orient Solid Script spell.

'Bumi!' yelled Luna, pointing at the bald guy.

'Roger!' she called back and dashed in his direction.

The leader suddenly looked terrified as the animal spirit was running towards him at a high speed. He let out a scream before trying to escape into the building, but Bumi got to him faster.

* * *

After putting the bandits in jail and going back for their reward (Madame Maxime was not happy to see their faces again), Storm and Luna were walking towards the train station as the setting sun painted the sky orange and purple. Luna was happy to add a new key to her collection, the only problem was that she didn't know what kind of key it was. It was jade green like her other jade keys, but the handle was carved to look like a black cat was climbing up on it. But the most curious things were the cat's eyes. An eyesocket was carved for them, and its „eyeballs" were two rubies.

Luna insisted that she only needed the gate key, but Storm gave her half of the money, stating that she deserves it, as her spirit was the one who took down the leader.

'This is yours, then,' she said as she gave him 15.000 jewels back. 'This is the money I owe you for helping me buy the silver key.'

He nodded and put the jewels away. After arriving at the station they bought their tickets and waited for their train to arrive. This gave Storm time to think, and to realize this job turned out to be fun. He never really partnered up with anyone before, if you don't count Luna's brother, who was his best fr- I mean rival. And he never really talked to Luna either. It wasn't that he didn't think her magic was powerful enough, because he knows about the strength of Luna's mom, and he saw today at first hand how strong Luna actually is. She was just simply the timid little sister of his be- _rival_.

'Hey, Luna,' he tapped her shoudlers gently, to which she turned her head to look at him. 'Even though the job was a joke, it was still more fun than if I'd taken it alone. So thanks, I guess.'

'You don't have to thank me,' she chuckled. 'You let me come to this job and I recieved _two_ Celestial Spirit gate keys! So thank you.'

'I suppose it's a start of a friendship, then,' he stated as he held out his hand.

'Yes, it is,' she responded, took his hand and shook it.

A sharp whistle resounded in the station, signalling all the people waiting by the platforms, that their train has arrived. Storm and Luna got up and boarded the train, but when they sat down, Luna sweatdropped.

'Uh, Storm?'

'Hm?' he hummed, looking out the window.

'Your clothes,' she said sighing, and Storm's eyes widened as he looked down to see his boxers.

'WHAT? When?'

He quickly ran by the conducter who was about to close the door so the train can depart, but Storm pleaded him to give him a few minutes to find his lost clothes. Needless to say, the two mages were able to depart only an hour later with another train.

* * *

 _„The Jade Keys open the gates to the Eastern Zodiac. They are the only spirits who aren't named after constellations or planets, and the only ones who have their keys made out of a gemstone. This means that they are on a different level than the other spirits. Sometimes they are considered the strongest branch of celestial spirits, inferior only to the Celestial Spirit King. Many argue about that however, because there are some spirits that aren't as strong as the others. It is also part of the reason why their keys are so hard to find."_

 _„The Platinum Keys open the gates to the 8 Major Planetary Spirits. They are said to be superior to the Gold Keys, but inferior to the Jade Keys."_

 _„The Bronze Keys open the gates to the Minor Planetary Spirits. These spirits are all appear as young children and teenagers with unbalanced magic, who represent the 7 Deadly Sins. They are slightly weaker than the Major Planetary Spirits."_

– A Study on Different Branches of Celestial Spirits, by Will Neville

* * *

 **The quote is from Fairy Tail episode 3.**

 **The study by Will Neville is written by me. :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Hello again!  
**

 **LoriStevens: Thank you so much for the first review! *.* No, the gold keys and jade keys are different. The Eastern Zodiac is** **equivalent to the Chinese Zodiac, but since there's no China in Earth Land, they can't call them that. I didn't mention the gold keys because they were already explained by the manga and the anime. Same with the silver keys. Many others start with giving half of Lucy's keys to her kids, but I want Luna to _find_ special keys, while Lucy and even Yukino collect more. The only way to do that was to create more branches of spirits (or give them lots of silver keys, but I was not having any of that).  
**

 **El Presidente: Thank you! How did you know that? o,o  
**

 ** _I don't own Fairy Tail_ _or anything else_ , other than the plot :D**

* * *

 _ **The Blood Red-Haired Brothers**_

 **"You can spend too much time wondering which of identical twins is the more alike."**

 **xXxXx**

There was no stranger sight than seeing two identical people beat the crap out of each other, is probably what most residents of Onibus were thinking as they watched the wild street fight go down right before their eyes.

It started out as a peaceful and quiet day for the townspeople, everyone was going on their merry way, when suddenly these two scarlet-haired boys showed up and started fighting with words at first, then fists followed, and soon buildings were damaged. Life stopped as people gathered around them, older men and women were shaking their heads in disgust as they gossiped about savage youth, meanwhile the youngsters started betting on which twin will win the fight.

They could only tell them apart because of their clothing, and because one of them had a strange red tattoo on the left side of his face. The tattooed one wore a skin-tight black sleeveless shirt with light brown cargo pants tucked into black boots, while the other wore a black middle-sleeved skin-tight shirt with another short-sleeved purple button-up shirt over it, black cargo pants also tucked into black boots.

'I want in!'

The crowd parted to reveal a tall, _very_ muscular man with medium skin and a purple headkerchief. He was grinning widely under his dark beard, and the two young man stopped their „quarrel". They looked at each other with identical dark hazel eyes, then they quickly sent a punch towards the newcomer, but he easily grabbed their fists and swung their bodies around so they would land on the ground behind him.

He turned around to smirk down at his defeated opponents, but the brothers landed on their feet and punched him mid-turn, sending him flying into a lonely cabbage cart. He got up to pay the punch back, but the twins were faster. They jumped around him as he tried to get a shot at hurting them, the veins on his neck bulging out. The tattooed one kicked him in the shin, while the other one was assaulting him from above, and he fell on his behind. The other one kicked him in the chest and his back collided with the wall of a building.

'I've had enough of ya!' he shouted, his face distorted in rage.

His hands lit up in the yellow light of his magic as he raised his fist towards the tattooed one, but he glowed brightly for half a second, and his hand met metal. The man blinked in confusion, staring at the now armored boy.

'Pleiades!' commanded the other one in a weird stance, pointing up.

The man's eyes widened as he caught sight of six lights shooting towards him from the sky. He cried out as they hit him consecutively and he slowly fell backwards, losing consciousness. The armor around the tattooed boy disappeared as he let out a sigh.

'Show off,' he muttered, glaring half-heartedly at his brother.

'This is how I'm feeling like today,' commented the other, smirking.

'Anyway, you didn't have to hit me that hard, Nii-san.'

'It's called acting, Cas. You either do it right, or don't do it at all.'

'I know who they are!' exclaimed suddenly a spectator as they caught sight of the black guild mark on the tattooed one's upper arm. 'They're the Blood Red-Haired Brothers of Fairy Tail, Karma and Castiel Fernandes!'

The crowd gasped in unison, Castiel scratched his tattoo sheepishly, while Karma grinned and waved at them.

'Hope you enjoyed the show!'

'I'm sorry for the trouble we've caused, but our job was to capture this man here, who was reported entering street fights and using magic to steal all the bet money,' explained Castiel calmly as he tied the unconscious man up. He swung him over his shoulder then grabbed Karma's arm and tried to walk away, but a short man with a purple mustache stopped him.

'That was a wonderful play, thank you very much!' he said enthusiastically. 'My name is Rabian, and I would like to hire you to play an important role in my upcoming theater piece-'

'No thanks,' the boys said in unison as they walked away without giving him a glance.

'Ungrateful little brats, thank you very much!' he muttered angrily.

The two mages entered a small alley to get away from all the attention. They decided to wait for the people to disappear and only then make their way towards the mayor's office to drop the street fighter guy off.

'Finally, some peace and quiet,' exhaled loudly Castiel, closing his eyes and turning away from his twin. 'It was hard coming up with all those names to make it seem like I was taunting you, you know.'

'Yeah, they weren't really creative.'

'Well sorry, next time I'll try harder,' said the Requip mage irritated.

'Counting on you, then,' said Karma, but the sound of him rummaging through his bag made the sentence muffled, so Castiel turned back to see what he was up to.

'What are you doing, Nii-san?' he asked, sweatdropping at the sight of his brother plugging the man's nose with two corks.

'Just teaching this guy a lesson,' answered Karma happily as he watched his target eagerly.

The sudden loss of oxygen woke the man up, and Karma immediately took out the corks, only to replace them with wasabi and mustard. The man yelled and shouted, but Karma entertained himself with pushing more into his nose.

'Nii-san, I think he understands now,' said Castiel as put his hand on Karma's shoulder, who sighed in disappointment.

'But the best part was about to come,' he whined. 'Hey, do you like spicy stuff?' The wanted man's eyes widened in fear and he feverishly shook his head.

'Nii-san, put the chili peppers away.'

'Aw, you're no fun!'

* * *

The streets were soon clear, with only a few people going in and out of the shops. Castiel was dragging the man with one arm, not noticing that he was constantly being terrorized by Karma, who was walking a few steps behind him.

They reached the town hall after a few minutes of wandering around, and after the guards reluctantly let them enter the building, they showed them the mayor's office. Castiel knocked on the door with his free hand, while the other was still holding onto their captive. However, no response came and Castiel looked at Karma, who shrugged and promptly opened the door.

'Excuse me-' he started to say, but a rather high voice cut him off.

'How dare you just break into my office?' the mayor yelled angrily, jumping on the top of his desk. Oh yeah, he was as tall as a five-year-old, which was pretty funny to the nineteen-year-olds, but they wisely stayed silent.

'We caught the guy, sir,' said Castiel as he roughly dropped the helpless captive on the floor.

'I see. You can go now.'

'Um, what about the reward, sir?' asked Karma, stepping forward.

'Oh, your reward goes to fixing the mess you have caused in my town!' shouted the short man with a red face. 'What was that about you starting a fight in the middle of the street? I expected more from S-Class professionals!'

'We needed to lure the target out somehow, since we didn't know what he looked like-'

'Because we didn't get any information from you about him-'

'Other than the purple headband, of course.'

'It's called a headkerchief, Castiel.'

'Shut up, you're not helping!'

The mayor continued yelling at them 'That still doesn't explain it!'

'It does, actually-' exclaimed Karma, but the mayor cut him off.

'No, it does not!' he huffed as he jumped off the desk. 'A „thank you" is all I can give for capturing this man. Now get out!'

'Jeez,' chuckled Karma as the door shut loudly after them. 'That was one grumpy old man.'

'He was kind of right, though.'

'I never said he wasn't.'

'So, what do we do now?' asked Castiel as they exited the town hall.

'Go home?' his brother asked back. 'I mean, we don't have anything to do here now.'

Castiel slowly nodded, then he stiffened and Karma saw his eyes light up for a millisecond, then he was back to normal. He looked at his younger twin suspiciously.

'What was that?'

'Well, I was thinking about how we didn't get the money, so-'

'Oh, hell no!' yelled out Karma as soon as he realized what he was getting at.

'C'mon, it'll be fun!'

'Over my dead body!'

* * *

Luckily Castiel didn't need to kill his brother, he just simply jumped him and knocked him out, then dragged him to the theater and woke him up. Rabian gave them the job of staging a play about basically themselves and their fight on that day, but in the play they actually hated each other. It wasn't a difficult role for Karma to play, because after waking up on the middle of the stage, he kept glaring at his brother with such intensity that Castiel thought he was going to kill him for real.

In the end, the play turned out to be successful, but only because many people came to see the Blood Red-Haired Brothers, not the theater piece itself. And even Karma had a chance to vent out his frustration on his twin, since they had a lot of fight scenes that were demanded to be made realistic.

After the audience left Rabian went over to them to give them their reward money. It was less than what they would've gotten for the guy with the headkerchief, but it was something.

'Thank you very much, the play was a success!' he then changed his tone as his face changed to a grimace as well. 'But it's obvious that you two are complete amateurs. Your acting was horrible and the fight scenes weren't realistic at all!'

'They weren't realistic, huh?' asked Karma with a twinkle in his eye that scared Castiel. 'Want me to show you a _realistic_ fight scene, Mr. Rabian?'

'I think it was enough for today, Nii-san,' said Castiel nervously as he held down the other boy before he could do something he would regret later.

'Your next play is sceduled on Friday- Eh?'

The man only blinked once and the boys were gone. They had no intention of doing this _ever_ again. At least they had some money now, so their day ended better than it started. Castiel expected his older twin to be sulking until after tomorrow, but Karma was almost skipping next to him, humming away happily.

'What did you do, Nii-san?' asked Castiel, knowing that something was up.

Karma looked over his shoulder, grinning innocently. 'I took his wallet.'

'You WHAT?!'

Castiel was freaking out, Karma was laughing, and then he rented a carriage to take them home, paying with the money from Rabian's wallet. His clone shouted at him, stating that they can take a train home and would arrive much earlier, but Karma didn't listen. He was planning on enjoying being rich for a few hours, and not even his worrywart of a brother could make him feel guilty for doing something that the annoying chairman of the theater clearly deserved.

* * *

 **The quote is from Robert Breault.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: Hello internet!  
**

 **I just wanted to drop by and tell you how bad I am at writing fight scenes or anything closely related. I'm trying real hard, though! They say practice makes perfect, right?**

 ** _I don't own Fairy Tail_ and stuff like that.**

* * *

 _ **Teamwork**_

 **"Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success."**

 **xXxXx**

The forest surrounding Magnolia town was a very big and deep one. Some of the wild monsters sometimes left it to disturb the people who lived on the edge of town, which gave many mages jobs such as defeating them or scaring them back into their natural habitat. One team from Fairy Tail was completing a job just like that in the East Forest.

The team, consisting of four nineteen-year-old S-Class mages and two exceeds, didn't have a name, even though its members were together ever since they were old enough to take jobs.

'How much do we have to walk until we find that monster?' whined the pinkette, her long ponytail swaying left and right as she dragged her sandaled feet. She wore a pink tank top with red and purple stripes, blue shorts, and she had her red guild mark on her right hand.

'It's supposed to be huge, so we should be able to find it pretty easily,' answered a smiling blue-haired guy as he stared at a piece of paper, which held their job request. He had a brown shirt with rolled-up sleeves, grey trousers and black boots on.

'Then why have we been walking around for three hours now?' growled another girl, her midnight blue eyes flashing with anger. Her sandy blonde hair was tied up in two spiky pigtails, and she wore a shoulder revealing light purple crop top, that made her purple guild mark on the right side of her waist visible. She also wore a dark blue skirt, black sandals, and fishnets on her right calf and her left thigh.

The last person didn't say anything, just kept a look out for the creature they were supposed to defeat. She had long black hair and black eyes, that made her look like a ghost with her snow white skin complexion. She was wearing a knee-high blue dress coat with a black belt and dark blue high heeled boots.

'It is strange that we haven't found it yet,' said Beatrice, a grey exceed, as she was flying next to the pink-haired girl, wearing a green dress that was the same color as her eyes.

'If Gale says we'll find it, then we'll definitely find it!' cheered Barry, a light brown exceed flying next to the smiling guy, wearing a light blue vest matching his dark blue eyes.

'Barry's right, you know,' said Gale. 'You guys aren't patient enough.'

'No, you're just impossibly positive,' commented the pinkette as her dark hazel eyes met his brown ones.

'And you're impossibly negative, Sakura,' retorted Gale back.

'I'm not!'

'Could you two shut up, this is annoying as it is,' said the girl with the pigtails named Elise.

The bickering two quickly shut their mouths, not wanting to get on Elise's bad side. She was as harsh as her mother, and as strong as her father. It was a bad combination, though no one ever dared to mention this to her or her parents. Especially her mother. It was easy to talk to Elfman, but Evergreen's Stone Eyes spell was a force to be reckoned with.

Suddenly a loud and deep cry echoed throughout the forest.

'It seems we've found it,' said the previously silent girl.

'Um, Thalia? How do you know it's the one we're looking for?' asked Sakura, slightly unnerved by the unknown sound.

'This is the first one we've encountered so far,' responded Thalia with her stoic demeanor. 'Might as well give it a try.'

'See? Thalia's an optimist too,' exclaimed Gale as he put the paper away.

'I don't think you could call it that,' sweatdropped Beatrice.

'Whatever, let's just get this over with,' yelled Elise as she started to run towards the source of the cry.

The others hurried to catch up to her. Everyone wanted to go home as soon as possible, even Gale. The eldest Redfox child was positive and bubbly by nature, which he inherited from his mother, but this job was supposed to be a _quick_ one. After three hours he started to get pissed as well, but he was good at hiding his emotions (which was strange, because he was horrible at keeping secrets, playing hide-and-seek, or hiding anything, really).

Now that they knew where to look, it really wasn't that hard to find a gigantic green monster. It was bipedal and had spikes all over his body, making it difficult to get close to it. It had long claws and a strong-looking jaw, which held many sharp teeth. The way it was easily swatting away trees and animals meant it was brutally powerful.

The four mages looked at each other, silently calculating a plan. After so many years together they understood the other perfectly well even without words, especially if it was about work. Their teamwork was something their guildmates were amazed by.

'Beatrice!'

'Barry!'

The two exceeds picked Sakura and Gale up, and flew up towards the monster's head, meanwhile Elise and Thalia ran to its two legs. The two Dragon Slayers held by their exceed partners inhaled deeply, preparing to unleash their breath attacks.

'Fire Dragon's Roar!'

'Iron Dragon's Roar!'

Their attacks hit the monster's eyes, blinding it completely. It screeched in pain and flailed his arms around, trying to catch its attacker.

'Water Slicer!'

'Wind Cutter!'

Thalia's sharp water attack injured the animal's left leg, while the winds Elise summoned left a deep cut in its right leg.

The monster cried out again, and lept towards Elise, who dodged its claws with opening her fan that was strapped to her back, and using her Air magic to fly away on it. Thalia started to bolt away from the creature as well, as it lifted its leg that she injured, about to squish her. She tried to run faster as she noticed it coming towards her, but Barry swooped down and Gale snatched her up in his arms right before the impact, which left a small crater in its wake.

'Are you okay?' he asked her gently.

'Yes.'

They landed and Gale put her down. Elise and Sakura landed next to them as well, but it went unnoticed by the pair.

'Thanks for worrying about me,' said Thalia, and Gale froze.

'A surprise attack, huh?' he sighed.

'What do you mean?'

'Nothing, it's just... I can't help but feel nervous when you say things like that,' said Gale as he scratched his neck sheepishly.

'Should I not say things like that, then?'

'N-No! That's not what I meant!'

'Aw, look at you two being so cute and lovey-dovey!' cooed Sakura.

'It's so sweet, I think I'm going to vomit,' gushed Elise.

Gale's eyes widened as he quickly turned around. He was about to protest and say that they weren't being "lovey-dovey", but Thalia beat him to it.

'Are you jelous, perhaps?' she asked with a blank face, and the teasing two suddenly froze.

'Yeah, well,' said Sakura after clearing her throat.

'No one would want such an awkward relationship as you guys have,' answered Elise.

'Says you,' coughed Sakura, but Elise still heard it and narrowed her eyes at her.

'Excuse me?'

'You say that as if your relationship with that Kage guy from Saber were any better.'

'W-What relationship?' shrieked Elise as she blushed a deep red, but Sakura looked at her pointedly, as if telling her "You can't lie to me". 'W-Well, at least I have one!'

Barry was giggling at his bickering friends, while his sister only let out an amused smile before deciding to remind them of their mission.

'Guys, we still have a monster to defeat,' said Beatrice. 'It got away while you were arguing.'

'It couldn't have gotten that far away,' said Gale, happy to avoid the topic, 'we injured it pretty badly.'

'Beatrice, let's go look for it from above!' said Sakura and the exceed nodded, lifting her up and flying away.

'I'll go, too,' muttered Elise, her cheeks still a little pink as she hopped onto her fan and flew up.

'This was funny,' giggled Barry.

Gale was about to scold him for embarrassing him, but Thalia joined the brown feline and let out a chuckle. Gale stared at her for a few seconds before he let out a relieved sigh. Thalia Fullbuster was famous for her interesting humor, but not many realized exactly when she was being funny, and that was the reason why it was called _interesting_.

'You did that on purpose, didn't you?'

'They're right,' she answered, 'teasing people is amusing.'

'Let's go look for it as well,' said Gale, then looked at Barry. 'You go look from above, Thalia and I will look down here.'

'How are you going to do that?' asked Barry confused.

'We'll look for footprints or something!' responded Gale irritated.

'Okay!' agreed Barry as he flew away, leaving them alone.

The truth was that Gale just didn't want to leave Thalia to search on her own. She was the only one who couldn't get into the air, and Gale felt bad about leaving her behind. Needless to say, he also enjoyed the female mage's company, but he wasn't going to admit that out loud.

* * *

Two hours passed. Gale and Thalia did find some footprints, but at some point they just disappeared, so the mages kept looking. The others couldn't find their target either. Everyone was getting frustrated (not to mention hungry too).

'How can a thing that big just disappear like that?' growled Sakura.

She has had enough of this, more so than the others. The female Fire Dragon Slayer was just as (if not more) kind and gentle as her mother, but she had a bad temper and no patience for _bullshit_ , that usually got her into a lot of pointless fights and stupid shenanigans. Obviously, she inherited those traits from her hot-headed father.

'This doesn't make sense,' muttered Gale, lost in thought.

'Gee, ya think?' asked Elise sarcastically.

They reached a small clearing, where some animals were resting, but they all got up and ran away as soon as they saw them, except one. It was a purple wild boar, that seemed to tense up as it sensed them. It turned around and raced towards them, but they all jumped out of the way in time. It ran straight into a tree and its tusk got stuck in the trunk. Thalia noticed that it was struggling with its two front legs mostly, its hind legs were covered in dried blood.

When the animal freed itself, it attacked them again. This time Thalia was closer to its head and saw burn marks around its eyes.

'Why is it attacking us?' asked Barry as he flew up to stay out of the boar's reach.

'We didn't do anything to it,' agreed Beatrice as she joined her brother in the air.

'No, I think we did,' said Thalia quietly.

'What do you mean?' asked Gale, as he jumped aside to avoid getting impaled by the wild animal's tusks.

'It's injured,' she said as she pointed at its legs. The creature was huffing in one place, tired of running back and forth, so the others could get a good look at its wounds.

'It is,' mumbled Elise.

'It can't see either, right?' asked Sakura slowly, understanding what her best friend was getting at.

'If it could, its aim would be better,' answered Thalia, staring alertly at the boar, who darted towards her again – or rather a little bit to her left.

'What are you saying?' asked Gale again, having no idea what the girls just discovered.

'We found the monster that we were looking for,' answered Sakura.

'And it's this thing over here,' said Elise, pointing at the boar.

'How?'

'I don't get it either,' whined Barry.

'I think I get it, but I'm not sure how it changed form,' said Beatrice.

'We'll figure that out after we've captured it.'

And so they were about to surround the animal, when it changed its form in front of them. It glowed for a second, then started to grow until it became the green monster again. Thalia took her place by its left leg, and this time Gale took the right leg.

'Put me on its head!' requested Sakura as her grey exceed picked her up.

Elise used her magic to fly on top of a tree, and took out her fan to prepare a strong attack. After letting go of Sakura, Beatrice joined Barry at flying around to distract the monster.

'Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!' yelled Sakura, her fist engulfed in flames as she punched the creature on the head. While it was distracted by the pain assaulting its skull, Gale and Thalia striked.

'Iron Dragon's Sword!'

'Ice-Make: Sword!'

With the iron sword, Gale was able to completely chop off the monster's right leg. Thalia's ice sword finished the job her water attack started earlier, cutting off the other leg of the monster as well. Sakura jumped off as the green nightmare started falling forwards, about to crush half of the forest, but the exceeds caught her.

'Great Sickle Winds!' Elise summoned a powerful air current around herself, then used her fan to gather more wind and redirect it towards the monster. The razor-sharp winds made deep cuts on the monster's rough skin, and the force of the attack made it fall in the opposite direction. A huge dust cloud appeared as its body collided with the ground with an earth-shattering force. The mages gathered around their defeated prey as it started glowing again.

'What is it this time?' groaned Sakura, who was ready to beat the crap out of this thing if it dared to try anything again.

However, after it finished glowing and shrinking, the passed out animal revealed its true form. The team stared at its purple skin and green fur, wondering how they ended up agreeing to this mission.

'A Gorian?' asked Elise quietly, but ended up raising her voice. 'A freaking Vulcan?!'

'I've never seen one that used its magic like this before,' answered Thalia, her tone sounding dead.

'Let's just go get the reward,' said Gale bleakly.

* * *

'It was a Gorian?' asked their client, a farmer who lived outside of Magnolia. 'I'm sorry, then.'

'Why?' asked Barry, blinking at the man confused.

'I can't give you that much jewels for defeating an ordinary Forest Vulcan.'

'Eh?'

'Are you freaking kidding me?!' shouted Sakura.

The poor farmer quivered in fear as Gale tried to hold her back, not knowing that Elise and Thalia were thinking along the same lines as the Dragneel girl was.

They eventually received the original reward, because the farmer was too afraid to give any less. This certainly didn't do any good to the reputation of Fairy Tail, but neither of them could care less. They wasted their entire day and were planning on having an early dinner at 8-Island, where they ended up celebrating another completed job, which was the fruit of their incredible teamwork.

* * *

 **The quote is from Henry Ford.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: Welcome!  
**

 **I hope you're ready for some action (more like drama I guess) packed bullshit, because it's coming soon.  
**

 **LoriStevens: I don't really know what Nashi's general personality is like, but I guess Sakura's is the closest to it, she just has a different name. For a reason, I might add ;)  
**

 ** _I don't own Fairy Tail!_**

* * *

 ** _Oshibana_**

 **It's the Japanese name of...**

 **xXxXx**

'When will this ride from hell stop?' asked a very green faced seventeen-year-old Ryū Dragneel as he tried to find a comfortable sitting position on the train _"from hell"_.

'It'll be over soon, Ryū,' said a white exceed named Corban, petting the blonde boy's spiky head.

They were on their way to Oshibana, a town that's main point was the railway station, so it wasn't hard to find a train that took them there. Ryū obviously protested, saying it would be fine if they just walked, but Corban told him that it would take too much time to walk there on foot.

The reason they came to this town was a job request, which they didn't know the details of, because the flier only said the reward was 500,000 jewels, but that was enough for the two of them to accept the job immediately.

'Did it stop?' muttered Ryū, then he suddenly perked up as he realized that yes, the train had stopped. 'We're finally there!'

And with that he ran off to the platform, pushing everyone out of the way and kissing the ground in joy. Corban sweatdropped as he flew towards his partner, his brown coat flapping in the wind behind him. It was slightly bigger than it should've been, not to mention he didn't bother with buttoning it up. Luckily his mother didn't see it, because Mavis help them if Carla finds one of his sons looking like a hooligan.

Ryū himself was wearing a red T-shirt, dark green trousers and of course, the precious white scaly scarf that his father gave him when he was younger.

'Now, what did that paper say, where does the client live?' asked Ryū more to himself, as he took out the job flier from his pocket. His dark hazel eyes scanned it for no longer than a second, before he already put it away.

'So?' asked Corban as they started walking into town.

'Avocado Street. Tell me if you see it!'

'Aye! I see it.' Corban pointed left towards a short street.

'Great job, Corban!' cheered Ryū as he took off towards the _only_ house that was on the street.

He rang the doorbell, and a few minutes later the door opened slightly. Ryū had to look down to see a small girl, her brown hair in two long braides on each side, blinking up at him curiously with her big blue eyes.

'Hello there. Are your parents home?' asked Ryū, crouching down to her level, but she simply shook her head. 'Do you know when they'll be back?' She shook her head again. 'I see. Thank you. Just an advice: you shouldn't open the door for strangers.'

He smiled at her then stood up and walked away after he heard the door click shut.

'Now what?' asked Corban, ever the wise one.

'I'm not sure. How about we go exploring? Maybe find a good restaurant?' he answered back with a big grin.

'That doesn't sound bad!' said the exceed as he grinned back. 'I'll order fish!'

'Yes, I know.'

And so the pair walked around for a while, looking for a place to eat. They found multiple restaurants, but none of them had fish on the menu, so they had to keep searching. They lost track of time at some point, because when they realized how hungry they actually were, it was already well past noon.

'Aw, man!' whined Ryū. 'Why must you only eat fish?'

'Because it's yummy!'

'Not _that_ much, though,' he muttered, and the cat gasped loudly.

'How can you say such a mean thing? What kind of best friend are you, Ryū?'

'A very good one apparently. I refused so much food just so you can eat your favourite one,' grumbled the blonde before sighing. 'How about we check the client's house again to see if they've come home?'

'But I'm hungry!' whined the white feline.

'What's that?' mumbled Ryū as his sensitive hearing picked up a strange sound.

'I said I'm hungry!'

'C'mon!' he yelled and he started to run.

'Wait, where are you going?' asked Corban as he spread his wings and flew after him.

Ryū knew what he heard. Someone was being attacked in the alley next to them, and he was planning on helping. He ran through the street then took a sharp left, but poor Corban couldn't take the turn fast enough and flew straight into a wall.

However, Ryū did arrive to see a brown-haired man with glasses being attacked by two mages. They used Fire magic to threathen the man with burning his skin off, and Ryū's blood just about boiled at the sight.

'You better pay us before the boss comes himself,' said one of them. He had a huge nose ring that was so big, Ryū couldn't make a difference between the ring and his nose.

'He's not as forgiving as we are, you see,' said the other one, cackling to himself.

'Stop it!' shouted Ryū at them, and the two shirtless monkeys turned around to face him. They both had a huge black guild mark located on their chest.

'Oh? Are you lost, kid?'

'If you aren't, then get lost!'

The two laughed at their lame joke, but Ryū stood his ground and kept glaring daggers at them. Corban also arrived and – despite not knowing the situation – still stood (hovered) next to his partner in silence. The man with the glasses stared at the boy with what looked like pity (Ryū couldn't care less, he knew he was not someone that needed pity).

'I don't plan on going anywhere until you leave that guy alone!'

'Didn't your parents teach you not to meddle in someone else's business?' growled the one with the ugly nose.

'No, they taught me the opposite, actually,' said Ryū grinning.

'Why you little-' yelled the other one as he sent a fireball in the boy's direction. Both his and his buddy's eyes widened when they saw the kid swallowing his attack.

'Thanks for the food.'

'W-What was that?'

'That was your magic not working against mine,' answered Ryū with a confident smirk. 'Wanna try again?'

'Eat this!' shouted the nose ring guy as he sent blue flames towards him. They were coming so fast that Ryū didn't even have the time to think, he simply consumed them. And they were _very_ cold.

'Ow, ow, ow! Brain freeze!' he yelled as he put his hands on his temples. The two men grinned triumphantly at each other, then they went in for a punch. A soon as they were within an arm's length, Ryū acted.

'Fire Dragon's Roar!'

The two recieved his breath attack in the face that left them blinking confused, their faces a little black, but otherwise looking perfectly fine.

'What are these guys made of?' asked Ryū as he turned around to get away, but one hand grabbed him and pulled him back with such force that he painfully slammed into the ground.

'Ryū!' called Corban, but the nose ring guy caught him and squeezed him in his fist.

'You bastards! Let Corban go!' demanded Ryū, the man behind him was shaking with fear.

'Make us, boy,' told him the other one before laughing.

'Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!'

The powerful attack caused an explosion. Ryū used that as a distraction and grabbed the confused man with the glasses, kicked the nose ring guy where no man wants to be kicked (Corban flew away shouting "I'm free!"), then made a run for it. Flames licked at his feet as he used his magic to add more speed, when he heard a yell and looked over his shoulder to see the man flailing in the wind behind him like a flag. He smiled sheepishly and stopped right away, with the man slamming into him, making both fall.

'Ryū, I think I will carry him,' said Corban with an amused smile, obviously enjoying their suffering.

'Yeah, that'd be a good idea,' muttered Ryū as he rubbed the back of his head, grimacing when he found a small bump.

'I think they're far gone now,' the man said, and meanwhile Ryū jumped up with a satisfied grin, Corban was sure that the guy just didn't want to be dragged by either of them again. 'But we should hurry, just in case.' The man sent them a tense smile, further proving the exceed's point.

'Are you sure you're okay?' asked Ryū, and the stranger hesitated a little at his serious expression.

'My name's Morty Tate. Thank you for helping me.'

Ryū grumbled something that suspiciously sounded like "...saved your _ass_...", but Corban decided to play nice. Just this once.

'You're welcome!' he chirped happily.

'You're a mage, right?' asked Mr. Tate as he turned to the teen. 'What guild?'

'Fairy Tail!' exclaimed Ryū proudly.

'Then you came to accept the job, is that right?

Ryū did not believe his ears. 'You're the one who hired us?'

'Yes, but first I'd like to show some gratitude for your help. Come with me!'

'Who were those guys?' asked Ryū as they started walking, but Mr. Tate was taking his steps a bit faster than necessary. This made Ryū suspicious and very curious.

'Oh, nothing important,' answered Mr. Tate smoothly, but the speed of his pace increased again.

'It seemed _kind of important_ to me. I mean they almost burned your face off-'

'Okay, okay! I'll tell you later!' whispered Mr. Tate irritated.

The rest of the "trip" was silent, but at least short. Mr. Tate led them straight to the only house on Avocado Street and invited them in. The moment Corban entered through the door, a blur of white tackled him to the floor.

'Waaah, Ryū! Save me!' he yelled while the big ball of fur kept licking his face, and the blonde kept laughing.

'Andrew!' called a familiar small voice. Ryū looked up to see the little girl who opened the door for them running to the dog (now identified as Andrew).

'This is my daughter, Dina. Say hello!'

'We already met when we came by earlier,' said Ryū as he crouched down to her level and smiled at her. 'So your name's Dina, huh? That's a pretty cool name. How old are you, Dina?'

The small girl turned a little pink before proudly holding up four fingers.

'I'm five years old!' she exclaimed as her dad held her fifth finger up. Ryū chuckled quietly as Andrew started licking the hand she was holding up.

'You didn't save me, Ryū!' cried the white cat as he tried to wipe off the dog's saliva. 'You really are a horrible friend!'

'Oh, please!' called back Ryū, rolling his eyes.

'Kitty!' said Dina as her eyes lit up.

'I'm a grown exceed!'

'What's the kitty's name?' she asked as she took him in her arms and squeezed him into a hug.

'Ryū!' begged Corban, but the teen simply shrugged before answering the girl.

'His name is Corban.'

'You traitor!'

'How can I thank you for your help?' asked Mr. Tate after talking to the maid.

 _If Dina wasn't alone, then why didn't this lady open the door?_ wondered Ryū, and quickly decided that this woman was a terrible babysitter.

'We're really hungry!' blurted out Ryū, before remembering the manners his mother taught him. 'If it's not a problem, then could you prepare some food for us, Mr. Tate? Preferably fish.'

Corban beamed at him after hearing the name of his favourite food, and Ryū knew he was forgiven. An hour later they all sat by a fancy looking wooden table, which was full of different kinds of fish. The Tate family all watched as the boy and his cat stuffed their faces (except Andrew, he sometimes got a bite or ten).

'So what's the job about?' asked Ryū before letting out a huge burp and muttering an apology.

'I want you to bring me a very rare flower in this area. I'd go but I have work to do, and it's very difficult to find it.'

'Alright,' said Ryū as he saw Dina disappear with Andrew. 'And what was that with those mages?'

'That...' The man sighed. 'That was some trouble I got myself into. I owe them some money for their services.'

'What kind of services?'

'I'm a scientist, but I work from home, you see. I asked them to buy me something that was sold with an affortable price only on the black market. If word got about me getting something illegally, I'd lose my job.'

'Which guild are they working for?' asked Ryū, who was being uncharacteristically serious again.

'I'm afraid I can't tell you that.'

'We can't help if you don't tell us!'

'That's not the job I hired you to do!' told him Mr. Tate strictly. 'I'll show you where to look for the flower.'

The two of them left the dining room, but Ryū quickly ran back and picked Corban up from the table. He was still munching on his fish, completely oblivious to the entire conversation.

Ryū was sure that this Mr. Tate was a total wuss, but when he was safe at home surrounded by his money, he thought he could do anything. He even hired two wizards when he had a debt to pay!

He just hoped that the guy did better as a scientist and as a father.

* * *

Corban looked for the flower as he hovered next to Ryū, who was still pondering about the unknown wizards. He could've sworn he saw that guild mark before.

'Ryū, what does that thing look like again?'

'It has yellow and pink petals, no specific fragrance, and its leaves are dark turquoise. Its size varies from 5 to 8 inches, and for the last time, it's a _flower_!'

Corban giggled. 'That was funny. You're like a book.'

'Shut up cat and keep looking!' shouted Ryū, his cheeks turning pinkish in embarrassment.

'Ryū-'

'What?' he snapped as he sent a glare to the cat. However, his eyes widened as he noticed what Corban was pointing at. It was exactly what they were looking for.

'Isn't that it? What's its name?' asked Corban, calmly flying above the flower.

'Mr. Tate didn't say,' murmured Ryū as he slowly walked over to his friend, not believing how easy it was to find it.

 _Wait a second..._

Corban reached for the flower as something clicked inside Ryū's head.

'Stop!' yelled the blonde as he slapped the feline's paw away.

'Ow! Why'd you do that for?'

'This isn't it. I've read about something like this before-'

'Of course you did. Are you sure you weren't born as an encyclopedia?'

'-and there's a carnivorous plant that actually uses magic to create illusions to lure his prey in. Mr. Tate said that this thing is hard to find, so isn't it suspicious that we find it right next to the town?'

'Hmm,' hummed loudly Corban, as if he were thinking. He even put one paw on his chin to look more dramatic. 'Nope.'

Ryū sighed and watched his friend starting to pull the flower, but it soon disappeared and turned into a dark green vine. Corban screeched as it trapped him in his hold, but Ryū immediately grabbed it and burned it into crisp, freeing the exceed (who got trapped for the third time that day – fourth if you count Andrew).

The duo continued searching after the incident, both unusually quiet. And the flower was really _really_ hard to find. It was _so_ frustrating!

The sun was starting to set as the two were still walking on a clear path.

'I'm too tired and hungry to move,' whined Corban as he slowly flew back to the ground, landing on his empty stomach. 'We've been searching all day! I can't move another muscle.'

'We have to or we won't get paid. If we don't get paid, we can't eat. If we can't eat-'

'Let's keep going!' exclaimed the cat as he suddenly jumped up, fearing famine.

About an hour later it got dark, and Ryū used his flames to light the way. He feared that it would be harder to find it now, since he couldn't smell it out, but they soon caught sight of another one (or the first real one).

'We found it!' cheered Ryū.

'I'll go and get it!' volunteered Corban, his mouth watering at the thought of finally having money for fi- food.

Corban flew closer to the plant, but didn't see the bush behind him starting to move. Ryū heard the rustling, and immediately knew that he would have to save his buddy again.

Corban touched the flower and as he was about to take it, something tried to snatch it away, but he didn't let go. Neither did the uninvited guest, and Corban soon found himself at least 8 feet above the ground.

'Ryū!'

'I know, I know. I'm going,' grunted the boy and ran after the troublesome exceed. His flames lit up the silhouette of a tall animal, that had large hooves, a long neck and brown fur. Meanwhile Corban lost his hold on the flower as it got eaten by the giraffe-like creature, and he almost fell down before remembering that he can fly.

'It ate it!' he cried.

'Oi! Spit it out, you hear me!' yelled Ryū, but the animal wouldn't even look at him. 'Fly to his mouth and take it out!'

'What? Ew, no!'

'Do you want to eat or not?'

'Aye, sir!'

So the cat went to do as his friend asked, but it was a lost cause. The flower was long gone.

* * *

The sun could already be seen on the horizon, showing that the dawn has arrived. Our two heroes (or something like that) were still in the forest.

'I want to go home!'

'Me too,' agreed Ryū.

'What happened to inspiring speeches and not giving up?' questioned Corban.

'To hell with those, I just wanna sleep.'

Ryū dragged his feet over to a bush and promptly fell into it, falling asleep right away. Corban lay down next to him and was about to follow the blonde's example, when he saw a small ray of sunshine lighting something up. He rubbed his eyes and walked closer. His breath stopped and his eyes lit up in joy when he saw that it was the flower they were looking for.

'Ryū! Ryū!'

The boy only groaned in response, as he had no intention of getting up whatsoever.

'Come on, Ryū!' Corban tried again. 'I have the flower! I really have it this time!'

'You do?' asked Ryū as his head snapped up towards the grinning feline.

'Look!' Corban lifted the flower up high.

'Corban,' said Ryū slowly, 'you're awesome.'

'Aye! I know!'

In that moment an animal showed up, looking for something to eat for breakfast. Ryū panicked, afraid that this creature would eat it, just like the last one did.

'Fire Dragon's Claw!'

Corban screamed as Ryū hit the animal behind him head on. But he wasn't screaming because he almost got hit too, oh no. Something much worse has happened.

'You burned it, Ryū! It turned into ashes!' shouted the exceed as tears flowed down his face like a river.

'Eh? EEEH?'

And so he started freaking out as well.

* * *

'I hate you.'

'You don't mean that,' said Ryū nervously, trying to comfort his partner.

'Of course I don't! I couldn't get as much food without you.'

'Wow, thanks,' commented Ryū and decided to leave the cat alone.

 _Who needs enemies when you have friends like these?_

'Ryū?'

'Hm?'

'Do you believe in miracles?'

'Where did that come from?' asked Ryū laughing.

Corban pointed to the top of a rock that was in front of them, and surprise _surprise_ , there was another _goddamn_ flower on top of it.

But Corban was right. This flower was apparently hard to find, and this is already the third one they've seen that day!

'Let's just pick it and run.'

'Aye, sir!'

* * *

Morty Tate was peacefully eating breakfast with his family when the doorbell rang. He put his mug of coffee and the newspaper down to see who comes over this early in the morning.

However, he sort of regretted opening the door when he came face to face with the boy and the cat he hired, looking (and smelling) like as if they just went through a survival camp.

'How can I help you?' he asked as he adjusted his glasses.

'Flower!'

'Here!'

The thing they shoved in his face was indeed the flower he asked them for. He smiled at them and gestured for them to come in. He disappeared into a room, but not before seeing the guests pass out on his couch.

'We made it,' groaned Ryū.

'Aye,' answered back Corban the same way.

Mr. Tate returned to the room, his daughter skipping next to him with a big book in her hands, and behind them Andrew was wagging his tail, drooling away happily.

'Thank you for your good work,' the man told them as he handed them their reward money. The two quickly shared it and started making plans on what to eat for breakfast.

'Oh, can I ask you something?' Ryū turned to Mr. Tate.

'You just did,' said the man laughing.

'Why is that flower so special? I mean I get that it's hard to find, but that can't be the only reason you paid us this much for it,' the blonde explained. 'So what's with it? Is it for your research? Can it be used for poison? Can it heal cancer? Can it-'

'No, no, no, no,' said Mr. Tate quickly. 'No.'

'Then what is it good for?' asked Corban.

'It's a very rare flower that my daughter saw in one of my botanical books. She loves pressed flower arts, and she told me that she wants to have it in her next picture. So I promised to get it for her. I searched for it for a long time before realizing that it grows in our forest. But since I don't have time to look for it next to work and looking after Dina, I asked you two to take care of it for me.'

'Thank you!' chirped Dina joyfully as he hugged her big book that she used for pressing flowers.

Ryū and Corban were completely done, by the way. They worked their asses off, thinking that this flower was for something important. They really did, I mean who would pay this much for an ordinary flower?

This man apparently.

 _It's okay_ , Ryū thought, _because even though his personality is slightly unpleasing, he really is a great father_.

 **xXxXx**

 **...the art of using pressed flowers to make different patterns.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: Hello guys!  
**

 **Remember Jason? Hopefully you all like Jason, because I very much like Jason. He's cool.  
**

 **And if anybody is still reading this, then I'd like some feedback, so I'll know if I should continue or just jump out of my window.**

 _ **Never owned Fairy Tail. Still don't own it.**_ _ **  
**_

* * *

 _ **Little Talks**_

 **"When we were young and full of life and full of love..."**

 **xXxXx**

 _"Magnolia is a city famous for its rainbow colored cherry trees, bustling streets, and of course the Fairy Tail guild. I guess you can say that they made the townspeople's lives cooler._

 _The guild is known for its members' rambunctious and destructive nature. They hold the cool title of the strongest guild of Fiore since more than two decades now, which is a cool achievement that they're incredibly proud of._

 _Inside the guild hall there's always a cool bar fight (they call it guild fight) going on. Almost every member participates, but they only use their fists (or legs). The cool guild master is strict about not using magic inside the guild, stating that they "don't have enough money to rebuild the damn place again and again". And the members listen, mostly because their master has a very mean glare."_

'It's not that bad,' muttered Laxus. 'Is it, Mira?' he asked as he turned to his wife who was cleaning the bar counters.

'It's scary enough so that the place will continue standing,' answered Mirajane, smiling at his distressed husband.

Laxus never read newspapers, except when he saw his guild's name or his guildmates' names in the title. This was the case that day as well, and he felt _just slightly_ insulted that they dared to write something like this about him. I mean, he kept the place standing! If someone else were the guild master his grandfather would be rolling in his grave.

'I don't get it. It's not scary at all,' commented Nova, his twenty-year-old daughter as she went behind the counter, placing empty glasses in the sink.

'You only say that because you have the same glare,' said Raiden, Nova's brother as he sat on a stool next to his dad.

His sister answered with a glare that still seemed as menacing as their dad's, even with the docile blue eyes she inherited from their mother. Raiden wanted to say that she just proved his point, but he wisely stayed quiet. Was he afraid of his sister who was two years _younger_ than him? Slightly, yes.

Nova went to serve the drinks her mother prepared, making sure to flick her blonde hair in her brother's face as she passed him. Raiden prepared for what was coming and shut his mouth and green eyes, so it only tickled his nose. It was a little too late when he realized that that was his sister's plan all along.

 _Damn it_ , he thought before sneezing. Thankfully it wasn't very violent so his white hair stayed slicked back. He then adjusted his grey coat, dusted off his brown pants, then put his hands in his pockets and walked over to his girlfriend.

Her name was Ophelia and she was the only child of Laki and Max. The couple turned out to be surprisingly functional for a while, but then they separated when their daughter was little. The girl was the spitting image of her mother, she even wore similar clothes to her mother's, she had a similar short hairstyle, and she had a pair of red thick framed glasses.

She and Raiden had been together for years, and they barely ever fought. She liked to boss people around, and he wasn't one to talk back to anyone or argue about meaningless things, so they made a perfect couple.

'Your dad saw the newspaper?' she asked her boyfriend as he sat down next to her.

'Yes, he did,' he sighed. 'And he wasn't happy.'

'He's never happy,' she commented while laughing and it made Raiden smile as well.

'Would you like something to drink?'

'Yes, bring me some pomegranate juice,' she ordered. 'You're paying, you're the man.'

'Right.'

Raiden hurried back to the counter to ask for some juice from his mom, who was serving Cana and his son their drinks on the other end of the bar.

'Hey mom, Ophelia would like to have some pomegranate juice.'

'It's coming right away!' said Mira as she winked at her son.

'Hey to you too, Raiden,' slurred a drunk Cana as he tapped the man's shoulders.

'Mom, don't flirt with guys who are my age,' snapped Seth, who was equally as drunk as his mother. 'What will dad think?'

'Sweetie, what your dad doesn't know can't hurt him. Besides, Raiden's older than you.'

'But I know,' groaned the boy. 'And that doesn't make it any different.'

Since he was a member of the Quatro Cerberus guild, Bacchus didn't know what his wife and sons were up to most of the time, and it was true vica versa. People didn't understand how those two drunkards were able to create a functional family, or create more drunkards that looked like them.

Seth looked more like his mom with his dad's eye colour. He wore a simple dark brown T-shirt under a white short sleeved button-up shirt, dark trousers and black sneakers. He leaned on his right elbow on the counter and rested his head on his hand, where he had his black guild mark tattooed.

'Let's play poker!' he proposed suddenly.

'No, how about I do a card reading and tell you when your girlfriend is gonna notice you?'

'She's not my girlfriend!' he yelled out, embarrassment coloring his cheeks red where the alcohol hadn't done it already.

'My point exactly.' Cana laughed as she tried to get her cards out of her pockets. 'You're nineteen, aren't you? I already had sex with at least four people by the time I was your age.'

'Mavis, you're so embarrasing!'

'There!' said Nova to Raiden as she passed him his girlfriend's drink. 'Mom! I'm gonna get some fresh air, okay?'

'Alright!' called back Mira.

Nova sighed and exited the guild by the back door. She took off her black high heels and carelessly tossed them away, then adjusted her beige skirt by pulling it down slightly. She reached into the breast pocket of her blue sleeveless shirt, pulled out a cigarette, lit it up and inhaled deeply. The door next to her opened as she blew out some smoke, but she immediately knew who came to visit her.

'You know that's not healthy,' said the intruder quietly.

'You're the only one who has a problem with it so far.' A short silence followed.

'How are you?'

'Look, Castiel,' she said without looking at him, 'we talked about this.'

'Yes, we did,' he said. 'But that doesn't mean I'm just going to give up.'

Nova exhaled deeply as the scarlet-haired boy closed the door behind him after reentering the building. Castiel planned on taking a seat next to his brother, but he ended up standing. The seats next to Karma were all occupied by the guild's famous troublemakers.

'Hey Cas, the three musketeers, uh, plus one,' corrected Karma himself as he saw the exceed frowning next to the three kids, 'just gave me the plan of the biggest prank of all time and it's amazing!

'Their timing is peculiar as always,' said Castiel. 'The Fantasia is tomorrow, I suppose they think that's the perfect time to strike, am I right?'

The children nodded vigorously and Karma proudly beamed at them. He was their "master" who introduced them to the world of pranking and to the art of making other people's lives miserable.

This team of troublemakers were composed of two twelve-year-olds, a thirteen-year-old, and a blue cat that could occasionally see the future.

'It will be the biggest and most awesomest prank this guild has ever seen!' shouted Jessiel, the obnoxiously loud son of Lisanna and Bixlow. At first glance he looked like an angel with his light blue hair, matching eyes and cheeky smile, but he was a true devil that liked to declare himself everyone's boss.

'The master wouldn't let it happen. And even if it happened, he would just about kill you for it,' stated the Requip mage.

'M-Maybe we shouldn't do it, then,' stuttered Ronan, who was Romeo and Wendy's only child. He took after his mother in basically everything.

'Come on, Ronan! Dare to be daring!' lectured him Malcon, the blue exceed with psychic powers and green pants. He was Corban's little brother, who loved wreacking havoc, but no matter how much he tried to get his partner on his side, Ronan simply stayed a little crybaby.

'I bet we can do it and he won't even notice,' boasted Percy, the oldest of the group. He was the little clone of Bacchus, but after learning magic from his grandpa Gildarts, he became a bit self-centered.

'If you learn how to whisper one day, you might just be able to do it,' said a purple-haired girl named Angela as she approached them with their drinks.

Jessiel and Percy openly stared at her, and Karma burst out laughing. The entire guild knew about their obvious little crush on Angela, maybe except the girl herself. She was Kinana's charming daughter, and her father was the once one of dangerous generals of Oración Seis.

Ronan meanwhile understood what she was hinting at and looked behind her to see the guild master glaring at them from his seat. His black eyes widened and he quickly leaned back, already afraid of the punishment he and his friends were about to recieve.

'Poor unfortunate souls,' said Sakura chuckling. She was sitting at the next table with her team.

'Neither of those traits describe them,' laughed Elise. Meanwhile Angela came over with their drinks.

'I do feel bad for Ronan, though,' said Beatrice before she started sipping her orange juice.

'What's wrong?' asked Thalia quietly as she noticed her brother sitting down next to her.

'I'm bored,' declared Storm.

'Ryū's not back yet?' asked Gale, watching as Barry played with his straw.

'Now that you mention it,' spoke Sakura as she put her shake down, 'he should've been back by yesterday.'

'I'm sure he's fine,' said Elise, obviously not caring at all.

'I'm not worried,' sighed the Fullbuster boy.

'You just don't have anyone to fight with,' told him Beatrice with an amused smile.

'What's that sound?' asked Barry, hearing a strange high pitched sound coming closer, and Storm groaned in frustration.

'It keeps following me!'

The S-Class team looked at him confused, thinking he went mental or at least something close. But they slightly understood when a small brown creature with beady black eyes, a carrot-like nose, and a big happy smile showed up in front of him.

'It looks like Plue,' muttered Sakura.

'Botan! Stop running around!' yelled a voice they all knew belonged to Luna.

'Is it yours?' asked Sakura surprised.

'Yes, I just bought his key the other day,' said Luna, panting. 'Everyone, this is Botan.'

'He's so cute!' squealed Sakura as little hearts appeared in her eyes.

'Right?' asked back Luna as she watched her sister hug the Nikola tightly.

'Tell him to stop coming after me,' grumbled Storm.

'He seems to like you, I can't tell him to stop,' said the Celestial Spirit mage, sweatdropping.

Storm let out an annoyed sigh and walked away grumpily. Luna stared after him, worried that she might have said something wrong.

'Don't worry, he was born that way.' Thalia smiled at the younger girl as she nodded, grabbed her spirit and walked back to her previous seat, which was right next to her black-haired best friend.

'He is cute, but he's so much trouble,' mumbled Astrid as she saw Luna return.

'I think it's worth it.' Astrid narrowed her maroon eyes at the pinkette's grin.

'You're too... _nice_. Why are we friends again?'

'Don't say that, Asu-chan!'

'I was just kidding, Lu-chan!' said Astrid, rolling her eyes and trying not to laugh at Luna's panicked expression. 'But what's with Storm? Did he hurt you? I'll cut off his balls if you want-'

'No! Please don't do that!' protested Luna. 'We're friends now. And no, he didn't hurt me.'

'Alright, if you say so,' said Astrid before standing up and adjusting the metal belt on her black dress. 'I'll bring something to drink for Nora-nee. Who knows when was the last time she came up. Would you like something?'

'No, thank you.'

The truth was she wanted to talk to her sister about something. She was so deep in thought that she walked into someone on her way to the bar. She fell back on her behind and looked up angrily at her "attacker", only to get more angrier when she saw who it was.

'Watch where you're going, midget!' snarled Nova.

'Who're you calling midget, you dumb bimbo! I'll tear your legs off and stick 'em onto your head!'

'Please, you can't reach that high.'

Astrid was about to introduce the blonde's face to the metal heel plates of her boots, but she walked away. It slightly threw Astrid off, Nova would usually stay and continue insulting her until she was satisfied. Today, it seemed, she was a little off.

'Would you like to order something?' asked Bellamy nicely. She was Jessiel's white-haired elder sister.

'I didn't know you were working today, Belle,' said Nova surprised.

'I thought you were going to be away for a longer time, so I asked for some help,' yelled Mira from the other side. Lisanna waved at her from where she was standing next to her sister, and Nova waved back. 'But since everyone is home for the Fantasia parade, we need the help.'

'I see.'

'A glass of water and some crackers would be nice. I'm taking them to Nora-nee,' said Astrid, answering Bellamy's question.

'Make that two bags of chips, three bottles of water, and a chocolate bar, Belle.' Kinana appeared next to them. 'I haven't seen her today yet.'

Astrid balanced the snacks in her hands (one bottle was on the top of her head) as she made her way to the guild's library. It got considerably bigger over the years, which her mom and Lucy were very proud of. She didn't like reading, unlike her sister, who only left the room sometimes to go home and have a shower. The memebers usually brought her food, because she didn't come up to eat often. Jinora was a loner, like their dad, and preferred spending her alone time (that she had a lot of) with reading books.

After opening the door (which really wasn't easy) Astrid walked down the stairs, carefully watching (or at least trying to) her steps, and threw everything on a table next to the staircase to put her metal bandana - that fell off - back to its place.

'Thanks, Astrid,' said Jinora without looking up from the book she was reading.

Her wild blue hair was also controlled by a black bandana tied around her head. She usually wore brightly coloured long-sleeved blouses with black skinny jeans and sandals. During winter she would wear mismatched socks and gloves, and when someone would point it out, she would pretend it was intentional.

'Is it at least interesting?' asked Astrid with crossed arms, hinting at the book in her sister's arms.

'I wouldn't read it if it weren't,' answered Jinora cryptically.

'You always say that,' huffed the sixteen-year-old and lay on the floor. Jinora knew at this point that she wanted something from her, but she thought if she ignored her, it would go away.

'Do you know anything about boys?'

 _There it is._

'No, I don't.'

'Of course you don't,' muttered Astrid frustrated. 'You live your entire life in a library.'

'That's why you should ask someone else.'

'So you're telling me to go away?'

'That's what I always tell you, but you never listen.'

'Did Gale-nii ever tell you about his crushes?' asked Astrid hopefully.

'He didn't need to,' said Jinora, and Astrid saw her brown eyes peeking out from behind the book. 'They were obvious.' They were obvious, but only to Jinora. She was his twin sister, she could basically read his mind, so Gale's well hidden feelings were like an open book for her. And she loved reading books. He wasn't much of a page-turner, though.

'What would you say if I liked a boy?'

'Nothing.'

'And if I told you that it's Ryū?'

'I'd say that you're probably the only one in the whole universe.'

'Yeah, probably,' chuckled Astrid. 'So what do I do about it?'

'I don't know.'

'I meant... Ugh!' Astrid huffed, then started pacing. 'What would you do if _you_ liked a boy?'

'I don't know since I don't like any at the moment.'

'That's not the point!'

'Then what is?'

'I need advice! How do I tell my feelings to the boy I like?'

'I already told you,' said Jinora slowly, as if talking to a child. She closed her book and stood up to face her sister. 'You came to the wrong person.'

Astrid pouted, partly because her sister wasn't a good listener, and partly because she was the only one who inherited their mom's below-average height. She was somehow happy that at least they were _both_ flat-chested.

'Why don't you ask Luna?'

'She'd probably get flustered and ignore the subject.' As Jinora took a sip of water Astrid came to realize something. 'You're also ignoring it!'

'Looks like it,' said Jinora, and opened a bag of chips.

'I'm not bringing you any food next time!' exclaimed Astrid angrily before stomping out of the library.

'You should ask Mom!' yelled Jinora, then shrugged and started eating as the door closed shut after her sister.

Astrid decided to take Jinora's advice and stormed out of the guild to go home and ask her mom. But luck wasn't with her that day, since after opening the front door she ran into someone again, and it got worse when that person turned out to be her crush and his cat.

'Hey, Astrid!' greeted her Corban with a grin, while Ryū just blinked down at her, momentarily confused.

'Watch out, would ya?' she shouted in the boy's face, then continued her way home. She hoped that she didn't hurt him or scare him or anything, 'cause that would just make her situation harder.

 _Stupid, stupid, stupid!_ she chanted in her head as she broke into a run.

'What's with her?' asked Corban staring after the distressed girl.

'What are you talking about? She's always this rude,' said Ryū, completely oblivious to what Corban meant. They entered their beloved guild to find a familiar sight.

'There you are, Flame Breath!' shouted Storm, who was currently standing in the middle of the guild only in his boxers, smirking. Almost every head turned in their direction, expecting their reunion to turn into a good fight that they can join later on. Cana was dying of laughter, saying how much „this kid takes after Gray", while Seth sat hunched at the table, dying from embarrassment.

'What did you just call me, Ice Block?' spat out Ryū as he and his long time rival banged heads, and their guildmates smiled in anticipation.

'You heard me, Nerd Lizard!'

'Wanna go, Underwear Prince?'

The hall soon turned into a battlefield, where only the best had the chance to survive. Castiel was the one who usually broke up the fights before they started when his mom wasn't there, but he wasn't in the mood today. Karma was very greatful for that.

'Heh, this seems like my kind of fun,' commented Natsu as he arrived with his team. 'What do you think, Underwear King?'

'Bring it on, Ash for Brains!' responded Gray with a smirk similar to his son's.

The battle got worse as more and more people returned from their missions and their homes to start working on the Fantasia parade, and soon the hall was full of insults, battlecries, shouts of "MAN", frightened yells and joyful laughter. In some corners you could even find some lost pieces of clothing, belonging to ice wizards.

* * *

It took a while for the guild to calm down, but since it always calmed down, even Laxus wasn't as stressed as he could've been. Wendy was as kind as ever, offering to heal the ones with uglier injuries. Everyone went back to what they were doing before, and that's what made this place so special and so _weird_.

Ryū was sitting at a table, pretending to listen to Corban's blabbering probably about fish, but he was actually back to thinking about what dark guild those monkeys belonged to.

'-and then she smiled at me! She- Ryū? Are you listening?' Corban wasn't dumb, though.

'Uh, yeah! Fish, right?' tried Ryū as he sheepishly scratched his neck.

'No!' snapped Corban. 'I was talking about Beatrice!'

'What about her? She's a good friend of yours, right?' Trust Ryū to be as dense as ever.

'And my one and only! She's the one I'm destined to be with! She- Ryū, you're not listening again!'

'I'm really sorry Corban, but I have something to do.'

Corban grumbled something about him being a "horrible friend", but he was used to that. Besides, this was more important. He had a bad feeling about it, but he couldn't remember where he saw that mark, so he did the only logical thing anyone would've done, which was asking Levy.

It wasn't hard to find her, either. The petite blunette was either in the library with her eldest daughter or chatting with his mom and Lisanna at the bar. This time she was with his mom, probably talking about the upcoming parade.

'Hi Mom, Levy.' They greeted him back, and he decided to get straight to the point. 'Levy, I need your help with something.'

'Sure. Come on, take a seat!' said Levy, smiling as she patted the empty stool next to her.

'Thanks,' he mumbled and sat down. 'Okay, so on my last mission, I encountered some fishy guys, who work for a dark guild.'

'Did you see their guild marks?' asked Lucy, slightly annoyed that her son didn't come to her for help.

'Yes, it looked like a horsehead.'

'A horsehead?' asked Levy, the smile from her face disappearing.

'Are you sure?' Lucy had the same reaction.

'I'm pretty sure. So, who are they?'

'Mystic Mustang, part of the renewed Balam Alliance,' said another voice, and they turned to see Mira smiling apologetically at them. 'I wasn't eavesdropping or anything.'

 _Of course you weren't_ , they all thought, sweatdropping.

'The Balam Alliance?' wondered Ryū out loud. 'There's a new one?'

'Apparently some people won't sit still,' said Kinana as she also joined the conversation.

'The original was all for Zeref, though,' said Mira. 'So I don't think this one has the same objective.'

'The last one believed Zeref to be dead as well, remember?' said Levy, pointing her index finger upwards. 'They wanted to revive him, so it's possible that this one wants to do the same.'

'But the fact that you met them means...' Lucy stopped and looked at Ryū.

'It means they're already planning something,' finished Levy with a frown.

'I don't think so,' said Ryū sheepishly. 'They were just threathening a guy for money.'

'Money drives the world, but especially the dark guilds when they plan on doing something big,' said Kinana before walking off to serve drinks. She walked by the table of Macao and Wakaba, smiling as she caught a glipse of the scene Rosemary was making.

'You won't believe how strong my roar is now, Grandpa!' said the twelve-year-old girl jumping in front of the two older men.

'I'll believe you if you show me, squirt!' Rosemary squeezed her blue eyes shut, and laughter escaped her lips as Wakaba ruffled her shoulder-length hair that was the same color as his was back then.

Rosemary Una was Wakaba Mine's granddaughter. She was born weak and everyone thought she wouldn't survive, so her parents took a friend's advice and implanted a lacrima into their daugther. They were surprised when their small child flooded the house one day, and after finding out that she accidentally recieved a rare Dragon Slayer lacrima, Rosemary was more than happy to join Fairy Tail and learn from other Dragon Slayers like her.

She practiced hard every day, and she was on her way to become the strongest in the guild. She knew that it was going to be a long journey, and even though she just started it, she was happy with being a part of this wonderful family for now.

 _"But no matter how rough on the edges Laxus Dreyar is, he's the one who keeps their cool_ _community together. The members think of the guild as their family, and would do anything for each other._

 _Their previous cool guild master, Makarov Dreyar must be crying tears of joy every day up in heaven, knowing how well his "children" are being taken care of."_

* * *

 **Aaand the Fantasaia parade went down without a problem! ^.^  
**

 **The quote is from the song Little Talks by Of Monsters And Men**


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: Hi! :)  
**

 **The last chapter of the manga left me wondering if there will be a possible continuation, but I mean Mashima has always been the biggest troll in the history of trolls, so...**

 **Sorry for the sloppy fight scene. I really am trying!**

 _ **I don't own Fairy Tail!**_ **(Trollshima** **does)**

* * *

 _ **Waving Through a Window**_

 **"But every sun doesn't rise, and no one tells you where you went wrong…"**

 **xXxXx**

Life in the Dragneel household was never boring. Their small cottage was located by the woods for example, but most of the animals living there avoided it on purpose, for the chaos inside was loud and ongoing, even with grown up children. The only time nature could enjoy a little silence was in the early mornings, because then the rowdy bunch would be peacefully sleeping.

There was an early riser in the family, however. The youngest always woke up to the chirping of the birds by her window, then went for a walk in the forest. She's been doing this for as long as she could remember, and Luna knew every single animal that lived there. The morning breeze and the way sunlight shone through the tree branches was intoxicating for her, she was addicted to the sight and the feeling and the _sounds_.

'Good morning, Mom!' she chirped, smiling as she entered the kitchen. She just came back from her morning walk to see her mother by the stove.

'Good morning, honey!' Lucy smiled at her daughter. 'Could you wake your brother for me? Tell him breakfast will be ready soon.'

'Where's dad?' asked Luna as she looked around. Her father would usually sit by the table and watch her mother cook, asking every second "Is it ready?".

'Right here!' called a deep voice and Luna turned around to smile at her dad. 'Good morning, Loony!' he said as he kissed her forehead, then burst out laughing at the face she made.

' _Daaad_! Stop with that!' whined Luna, pouting. Her father liked to call her that, since one time he said that anyone who wakes up that early must be lunatic.

'With what?' he asked innocently as he sat down by the table. 'Lucy, is it ready?'

'No, Natsu,' sighed Lucy in annoyance.

Luna smiled with satisfaction at the scene she was used to, then exited the room to look for her brother. Her parents' bickering could be heard all the way from the other end of the house, though.

'Is it ready now?'

'Natsu, I swear to Mavis...'

'Is it ready now?'

After a loud bang and a painful yell, Luna knew that her dad will stop asking for a while.

Her brother's room was the closest to the kitchen, but nothing could wake him up, dragon senses be damned. She opened his door slowly, afraid it might start creaking, but the blonde teen was snoring so loudly that it wouldn't have mattered. Luna tiptoed over to his bed and started poking him gingerly.

'Ryū-nii, wakey wakey!' she whispered. 'Ryū-nii, it's morning already! Wake up!'

'What are you doing?' asked Sakura as she poked her head in the room.

'Mom told me to wake him up,' said Luna, looking at her sister with pleading eyes. Sakura got the memo and walked over, rolling her eyes.

'Ryū, wake the hell up, there's food!' she yelled and then yanked off the sheets her brother's limbs were tangled in, and he fell to the floor with a yelp.

'What is wrong with you?' shouted Ryū, glaring at her sister from the floor.

'Lovely to see your face as well, little brother,' said Sakura laughing. 'Come on, breakfast will be ready soon.'

'Why did you wake me up if it isn't ready yet?' groaned Ryū as he stood up.

'So that we can hear you complain all day,' muttered Sakura irritated, then left his domain.

* * *

Everyone went to the guild after breakfast, but Luna decided to stay home. She still hasn't made a contract with the other spirit whose key she brought home with Botan's. She was at a loss, too. She needed to say the spirit's name, or at least the gate's name to be able to open it and summon the spirit, but she had no idea what either of those were.

'Are you alright, Luna?'

Luna turned to see her mother in the door. Lucy was slightly worried about her youngest daughter, since she was just sitting on her bed and staring at the floor. She's never seen her act like this.

'Mom!' exclaimed Luna surprised. 'You're still home?'

'I decided to clean the house a little bit.' Lucy sat next to her on the bed. 'What's wrong, sweetie?'

'I told you that I brought home two keys from my last mission, right?' Lucy nodded. 'You already met Botan, but the other one is, uh... I don't know what the other one is.'

Luna knew she could count on her mom anytime, especially if it came to Celestial Spirits. She was slightly ashamed that she couldn't tell what key it was, but she knew her mom wouldn't laugh.

'Can you show me?' asked Lucy, and Luna nodded, taking it out of her pouch. 'May I...?'

'Of course, Mom.' Luna chuckled at her mother's formality as she gave her the key. Lucy's eyes roamed the handle expertly, turning it around a few times, but her gaze stopped at the ruby eyes of the carved animal.

'It's black,' stated Lucy.

'Yes, I know that,' said Luna slowly, looking at her mother weirdly.

'No, I mean it's _black_. It's a Black Key.'

'But it has jade in it...?'

'Ophiuchus's key has gold in it, too' said Lucy, handing the key back to her.

'Ophiuchus?' asked Luna confused. 'The Serpent Bearer?'

'The 13th gate of the Zodiac. Its key is gold, but there's a black serpent slithering up the handle,' explained Lucy. 'Maybe this one is the 13th gate of the Eastern Zodiac. It could be, there are many gate keys out there that we still don't know about. I don't know what's with the rubies, though.'

'Thank you, Mom! You've no idea how much this helped!' said Luna as she hugged her.

'You're welcome, baby,' laughed Lucy. 'Now stop with that sad face, okay?'

'With what face?' she asked innocently, and Lucy had to stop herself from facepalming.

 _I swear to Mavis, sometimes she's the most like Natsu_ , she thought as she closed the door after exiting her daughter's room.

Luna stood in front of her bed with a determined look, pulled out the key and decided to try her best at summoning the spirit.

'I am linked to the path to the world of Celestial Spirits! Now, spirit, answer my call and pass through the gate! Please,' she muttered the last word. 'Open, Gate of the Eastern Cat!'

As the usual ding-dong resounded in the room, the light of summoning a spirit for the first time surrounded Luna. She was eager to meet her new friend, and as the light faded away, she was left dumbfounded.

In front of her sat a black cat, not bigger than a _kitten_ , with its eyes closed. Luna felt as if she just disturbed its nap time.

'Um, hello,' she said in a small voice. 'My name is Luna, your new summoner, if that's okay with you. What's your name?'

The cat stayed silent, and Luna started to wonder if she performed the summoning correctly. But as the cat opened its eyes to reveal ruby colored irises, she froze.

'No, it's not okay with me,' the cat spoke in a slightly deep voice, reminding Luna of an adolescent boy. 'And my gate is simply called the Gate of the Cat. Don't lump me in with those jerks.'

'Uh, I'm so sorry!' blurted out Luna, panicking. 'I'm sorry if I upset you. Could you tell me why you don't want me to be your summoner?'

'Because I don't want you to, and that's it.'

'That's it?'

'That's _it_.'

'…Why?'

The cat clicked its tongue and stood on its legs before it was consumed by a bright light. Luna covered her face with her hands, but when it subsided and she looked in the cat's direction, her eyes widened.

'I went through the whole "I'm different than the others" thing with other summoners, but they all turned out the same,' the spirit spat out.

Luna was still staring at him speechlessly. The cat was no longer a cat, but a teen with tan skin, black clothing, orange hair and piercing ruby eyes that sent a clear message: _stay away_. There was only one thing that registered in the girl's brain, however, that made her cheeks feel hot.

 _ **I summoned a teenage boy into my bedroom!**_

* * *

Crocus was a huge town, with many small villages surrounding it. In the farthest village, Sakura was standing in front of a house, waiting for her client. She accepted a simple job to guard a man on his way to Crocus. He wanted to sell a family heirloom to a museum in the capital of Fiore, but he was afraid of bandits attacking him on the way.

Beatrice couldn't come with her today. Gale left for an S-Class job that was too dangerous for Barry, who was still very young, and the exceed kept crying over it, so Beatrice had to stay with her brother to keep him calm.

Sakura didn't mind, though. She was capable of doing this job herself, especially as an S-Class wizard. But this whole "have to wait for somebody" situation irritated her. She bid goodbye to her mother's delicious breakfast on the way here because she came by carriage, and now this guy was playing with her nerves. The client was a nice man actually, even if a bit cowardly. He offered Sakura a cup of tea when she arrived, but she refused. She felt like her stomach couldn't promise her she wouldn't see the liquid again in a few minutes after consuming it. Anyhow, she wasn't tempted to try.

'Thank you for your patience, Sakura. We can go now,' said the client, smiling apologetically.

'It's alright, Kain,' she lied. 'But we should hurry if we want to get there before it gets dark.'

Their journey was boring and quiet. Sakura kind of _wished_ for something to happen, but at the same time she was thrilled to have this job completed without a problem. She looked back to see Kain taking his steps carefully, his gaze always shifting.

'You hired me for a reason, didn't you?' asked Sakura and the chubby man jumped at hearing the accusation in her voice.

'Yes, I might have,' he said as he pulled out a kerchief to wipe the sweat from his forehead.

'What should I watch out for?'

'I-I don't know! I just know that they didn't like the idea of me selling the vase, so someone will definitely be coming after us.'

'They?' questioned Sakura, lifting one eyebrow.

'My cousins, they're crazy.'

'You think they hired someone to take the vase from you?' The man nodded vigorously.

 _Then I'm not sure who the crazy one's here_ , thought Sakura, sweatdropping. _Probably the entire family._

'What was that?' shrieked Kain as he jumped on Sakura's back. They heard a rustle from a nearby bush, and he freaked out completely.

'It's a rabbit,' scoffed Sakura, before they saw a brown rabbit sprint away from them.

'H-How did you know?' asked Kain as he awkwardly climbed off her back.

'I have pretty good ears. Now can we keep going?'

Kain chuckled sheepishly, but Sakura continued walking. The chubby man struggled to keep up with the pinkette, but she had no intention of slowing down. They wanted to get out of the forest and into the city before dark, after all.

She kept up the pace until dusk, when she spotted the Mercurius Palace. Next to her Kain made sounds of amazement, stating he never actually visited the city before. Sakura was about to take a step towards the capital, but her ears picked up rapidly approaching footsteps. She turned around to find a large group of men grinning at them, sporting one dangerous guild mark on their shirts.

 _The Southern Wolves_ , said Sakura to herself as her eyes narrowed.

The men charged at them and Sakura stepped in front of Kain, who was already quivering in fear, clutching his precious heirloom in his arms.

The wolves were known for their fighting techniques, and if it were another situation, Sakura would've been impressed by them. Right now she had a hard time, she mostly kept them away with her fire. She kept sending punches and kicks and attacks of the Fire Dragon, but they just kept coming.

She just dodged a roundhouse kick when she heard a rush of air by her ear, then she felt the right side of her face burn. She lifted her hands to her cheeks and was surprised to see blood on her fingertips. She dodged a punch and gave one in return, only to feel the back of her right hand burn and start to bleed. Sakura looked around to see arrows stuck in the ground. She tried to avoid the incoming arrows as well, but she also tried to keep up with her attacks.

A few seconds later she realized that the enemy's goal was to keep her away from Kain. The chubby man was still holding onto the vase for dear life, even with two or three arrows in his arms. Sakura quickly ran back to him as some men started to surround him. She felt a sharp pain in her shoulder, when she decided she has had enough of this.

'Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame!'

She tossed the powerful attack at the remaining forces of the wolves, which they received with frightened shrieks. Silence followed afterwards, and Sakura took a few deep breaths before remembering that the archers were still up on a tree somewhere. She made her way towards Kain, but she wasn't fast enough now to step out of the way in time. An arrow slashed her left arm, and another one got stuck in her right leg. She dropped to the ground in pain as another one left a deep wound in her left leg.

'Sakura!'

Her whole body froze as she saw an array of arrows shooting towards her in slow motion. Her eyes widened and time started to speed up again when Kain jumped in front of her. She was able to hear the weapons rip through his flesh, and some of them even came out on the other side. She started trembling when he lifelessly fell to the ground next to her.

Sakura stood unsteadily and with unshed tears blinding her vision, she set the nearby trees on fire with her roar. She didn't even stop to make sure the archers were gone, she kneeled down at Kain's side and ripped the arrows from his body. Her hands started glowing soft blue as she activated her healing magic.

'Why the _fuck_ did you do that?' asked Sakura as she did her best to stop the bleeding, but her magic was almost completely drained.

'It was the least I could do,' he chuckled (more like wheezed). 'I wanted to pay you with the money I would've received for the vase, but after what you've done for me today, I don't think that would've been enough.'

'Alright, I stopped the bleeding!' yelled Sakura as she lifted him on her back. She only hoped it would be enough until they reached the hospital. 'We'll be in the city in a few minutes, okay? Kain?'

She felt something dribbling down her back, and she started to run when she didn't hear him respond.

* * *

'Well, I want to be your friend,' said Luna as she stared at him with determination. 'But I'm going to need your name for that.'

'I told you, little girl, I don't want a part in this,' snarled the cat spirit.

'How can I change your mind?'

'You can't, just accept it!'

'I'm a Fairy Tail mage,' exclaimed Luna proudly, but then lost courage as she looked into his eyes, so she ended up only mumbling the last part. 'We don't give up that easily.'

The boy stared at her for a few seconds before letting out a tired sigh. 'You have my key now, so you're going to bother me until I cave in, won't you?

'It sounds kind of rude when you put it like that,' muttered Luna timidly.

'Then I'll be waiting for the next time you summon me, 'cause I'm not convinced yet!' and with that the boy disappeared.

Luna was disappointed. She could form a connection with her spirits so easily! So what was up with that grumpy cat?

Luna felt a presence next to her, and turned to see one of her Eastern Zodiac spirits on her bed.

'Is everything okay, Luna?' asked the rabbit spirit as Luna sat down next to her.

'Thanks for coming, Toph, but I'm fine.'

Toph was a small bunny with caramel colored fur, and abnormally big front teeth (even for a rabbit).

'We can all feel it if you're upset, so you can't lie to me,' huffed the small animal, and Luna smiled at her sadly.

'I'm just a little sad, but I'm going to get better, I promise.' She started petting the small creature. 'Do you know anything about a cat spirit?' Luna felt the bunny's body tense under her palm.

'Uh, n-no,' stuttered Toph. 'Perhaps you're talking about Leo, he's a big cat-'

'You _do_ know something,' stated Luna, looking at Toph disappointed. 'Why won't you tell me?'

'We're not allowed to talk about it,' muttered the spirit in a small voice.

'Oh…' Luna frowned.

'I'm sorry, Lu,' purred Toph as she nuzzled her head in her summoner's palm. 'But if you found his key, then it means you have a chance to change him.'

'What do you mean?' Luna blinked at the bunny curiously.

'You know that some of us had it rough because of our summoners,' Luna nodded, 'but he's the one who got the worst of it. Or the best, we could argue about that,' she muttered, then shook her head and continued. 'Anyway, you might just be able to free him from his beliefs.'

'Free him from his beliefs?' repeated Luna slowly.

'I think I already said too much,' mumbled Toph. 'I have to go now, but if you need someone to talk to, then know that we're here!'

The bunny spirit disappeared, and Luna felt her eyes starting to water.

 _I have so many great friends_ , she thought as she wiped her eyes with her sleeve. A new wave of determination rushed through her as she stood and took out the Black Key again.

'Open, Gate of the Cat!'

The usual doorbell sound accompanied the appearance of the spirit in his human form. He didn't look happy at all.

'You just can't catch a break, can you?'

'How can I change your beliefs?' asked Luna immediately, and the boy's eyes widened.

'My what?'

'I want to help you.' Luna tried to convince him. 'And then maybe you could help me.'

'You're doing this for your own gain,' he growled as his eyes narrowed.

'No! Oh, Mavis, no!' protested Luna weakly. 'I just want to be your friend. I told you that already.'

'And I told you already that I don't want to be your friend.'

'Can't we at least try?'

The boy went back to the spirit world again, and Luna felt her rush of conviction fade.

* * *

'The forest fire outside of Crocus yesterday was reported to be caused by a pink-haired girl with a Fairy Tail guild mark...' muttered Laxus as he read through the reports and the complaints.

He slammed them back on the table as he massaged his temples. He exhaled loudly before starting to calculate in his head. They were going to need to replant those trees or whatever, and pay for the damage, among other things.

'Damn it, Sakura,' he grumbled angrily.

* * *

The female Fire Dragon Slayer sneezed as she sat on a chair in the waiting hall. She managed to bring Kain to the hospital in time yesterday, and she was up all night after her wounds were treated.

She felt guilty and responsible about what had happened to her client. She was there to protect him, not the other way around! She considered this mission a failure, because even though his precious family heirl-

 _Dear Mavis_ , thought Sakura as her eyes widened, _I didn't pick up the vase! He saved me and I lost his family heirloom!_

She almost jumped up to retrieve it, but she was sure that it got destroyed in the fire she left behind.

 _I probably caused a forest fire, too. Great job, Sakura! You really haven't changed at all!_

Sakura was about to burst into tears when the door to Kain's room opened, and a short nurse walked out. Sakura stood immediately, but the nurse calmed her nerves with a kind smile.

'Are you family?'

'Um, yes! I-I am his, uh, cousin,' stuttered Sakura, mentally facepalming after realizing that she just made herself one of his crazy cousins.

'He's stable for now, but you won't be able to visit him yet.'

'When can I visit him, then?'

'We're monitoring his first hour to see if he gets an internal bleeding. Until then, no visitors are allowed,' explained the nurse before leaving Sakura alone with her thoughts. She felt slightly better, knowing that he was okay. Well, maybe not _okay_ okay, but he was _stable_.

Sakura sat back in the chair with a loud sigh. She felt the exhaustion catch up with her, and no matter how much she struggled to keep her eyes open, her mind went back to the scene where Kain jumped in front of her as she fell into a restless slumber.

 _"Mages are hired to defeat monsters."  
_

" _I'll show them!"_

" _I'm going with you."_

 _"My name is..."_

" _THALIA!"_

Sakura's eyes flew open as she awoke with a gasp. The kind nurse from before was in front of her, her brown doe eyes full of worry.

'Are you alright?' she asked as she sat next to her. 'You started screaming all of a sudden, and I had to wake you up. I'm sorry, but you were disturbing the patients.'

'Yeah, okay, I'm sorry,' said Sakura as she rubbed her forehead with a shaking hand.

'You look terrible. You should go home.'

 _Wow, thanks_ , thought Sakura. But then again, this lady was being too nice to her. She was sure that the other nurses wouldn't have minded her business this much.

'How long was I out? Can I visit Kain now?'

'Yes, but you should go home after that.'

The nurse pat her on the shoulder, watching as Sakura shakily stood up and entered Kain's room. The chubby man was lying on the bed, sleeping, his face calm. This was the first time Sakura saw him this calm, which was slightly disturbing. She remembered that he had no family that could visit him, since his crazy cousins are probably at home, celebrating his hospitalization.

She made a decision to visit him tomorrow. And she came, but she froze when she walked by the window of his room, which was on ground level. She watched his still, peaceful face, and the doctor and the nurses that ran around his bed, their faces showing urgency. Even the kind nurse was there, looking panicked, especially when she caught sight of Sakura on the other side of the window.

All of that moving suddenly stopped when the doctor lifted his hand to look at his watch, while a nurse wrote something down, and the others started to turn off the machines next to Kain's bed. Sakura's hands moved on their own and her fingers tapped on the glass. The kind nurse walked over to the window and tapped back, sending Sakura a smile that didn't quite reach her sad doe eyes.

* * *

 **Wow, that, uh... That escalated quickly :/ Careful what you wish for, Sakura!  
**

 **The quote is from the song Waving Through a Window from the musical Dear Evan Hansen.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note: Hey guys!**

 **Promised angst is delivered or something like that.**

 ** _I_ still _don't own Fairy Tail!_**

* * *

 _ **How It Happened**_

 **"You can run from it all you want, but your past will always chase you."**

 **xXxXx**

 _Sakura was standing in front of the river of Magnolia town, her eyes sparking with anger. She was surrounded by a group of kids that were probably her age. They were laughing at her, and no matter what she said to them, they kept making fun of her._

 _"I'm a Fairy Tail mage!" she huffed._

 _"Oh, really? Then I'm a unicorn."_

 _"If you're a mage, then aren't you supposed to have a guild mark?"_

 _Sakura wasn't brave enough to tell them that she would only receive the mark next year, because her parents promised her that she could come with them on a mission on her birthday._

 _"I_ am _a mage, a Dragon Slayer!"_

" _You're just a liar with a big forehead!"_

 _Sakura felt an incredible rage bubble up inside her, and it scared her. She started trembling, and was about to show them just how much her flames can burn, when a voice interrupted her thoughts._

 _"A Dragon Slayer, you say?"_

 _A bright blonde-haired girl appeared as the small crowd of children parted. She was staring at Sakura with a scrutinizing gaze, and Sakura found herself glaring back at her. The girl's brown eyes narrowed and the corners of her lips curled upwards into a smirk._

 _"What kind of Dragon Slayer can't protect herself from a bunch of kids?"_

 _At that remark even the other children started sending her heated glances. The girl lifted her shirt a little to show a tattoo on the right side of her waist. It was white, resembling a tiger._

 _"See this?_ This _is a real guild mark."_

 _Sakura's eyes widened as she stared at the mark unblinkingly. She could hear surprised gasps coming from the kids, and she saw that some of them even ran away. The girl slowly walked closer to her, until she was only inches away from Sakura. She leaned over, for she was slightly taller, and her smirk grew._

 _"They are right, though. You do have an abnormally large forehead. You can't be a Dragon Slayer, because you're just a deformed creature, a monster."_

 _Sakura felt her eyes burn, but she was determined not to cry. If she started sobbing now, then all of her dignity as a Fairy Tail mage would be lost._

 _"And you know what? Mages are hired to defeat monsters."_

 _Then she pushed the pinkette into the river by poking her forehead._

* * *

 _"I'll show them," muttered Sakura as she picked at her food._

 _"Show what to whom?" asked Lucy._

 _The Dragneel family was sitting at the dinner table, having a pleasant meal. Both parents noticed how quiet their daughter was being, but Lucy sent Natsu a look, saying 'Leave it to me'._

 _"To those stupid-" she growled before letting out a disgruntled sound. "They're stupid! You're stupid! I'm stupid! Everyone is an_ idiot _!" she yelled before storming into her room and slamming the door closed._

 _"Sakura!" called Lucy as she jumped up from her seat and hurried after her eldest child. Her tone sounded strict, and the words Sakura said upset her, but she was worried about her well-being. It broke her heart to see those frustrated tears in the child's eyes, she wanted nothing more than to help her, but Sakura wouldn't open the door, no matter how loud she kept pounding on it._

 _After minutes of waiting for a response that didn't come, Lucy leaned her back on the door and slid down to the floor, sighing. She remembered that Layla was an amazing mother, and she wanted to be just as good to her own babies, but she never thought it would get this difficult one day. And Natsu found changing a diaper a heavy task back then! She feared the time they would start going on jobs._

Does anybody know how the hell to do this? _the blonde thought as she rubbed her eyes with the heel of her palms, feeling genuinely tired._

 _Meanwhile Natsu was trying to decide if he should go after his wife. He would push his chair back and stand up, then sit back down, unsure what to do. He glanced at his kids to see Ryū staring at him._

 _"Is she PMS-ing?" asked the small boy and Natsu's eyes grew to the size of their dinner plates as he started spluttering._

 _"What?!" he asked finally. "No! She's_ way _too young for that! How do you even know about stuff like that, anyway?"_

 _The eight-year-old didn't answer, but continued emptying his plate as Luna raised hers._

 _"Daddy, can I have some more chicken, please?"_

* * *

Sakura was lying on her yellow bedsheets as she stared at her bandaged hand. The arrow sliced the skin on the back of her right hand, but she was relieved that the wound was almost by her wrist, so it didn't damage her guild mark.

She's been sitting in her room for three days now. Her parents just stopped asking her to come out yesterday. They knew she needed space, but they were worried. Sakura knew that, and felt bad for causing them this much trouble, but she couldn't go out.

Memories started plaguing her mind after her nightmare in the hospital. She was reminded of her failure every time she closed her eyes. She was an S-Class mage, damn it! She should be able to do something like this alone! At first she was mad at herself, then at the Southern Wolves that attacked them, then at the goddamn sheet of paper she took off the request board, and even at poor Kain who suffered the most because of her incapability to protect.

She swore to herself that she would never let something like _that_ happen again. She perfected her spells to protect, learned healing magic to heal, then worked hard at the trials to earn a title for herself to prove everyone she came a long way from being a helpless ten-year-old. But did she really?

* * *

 _"That's a bad idea."_

 _That was all Thalia said after her best friend explained her genius plan to her. They were standing at the entrance of the West Forest, because Sakura called her here to show her something "awesome"._

 _"No, it isn't!" insisted Sakura. "I already picked it," she said as she pulled out a job flier, and Thalia's eyes widened._

 _"When did you-?"_

 _"This will be perfect," grinned the pinkette._

 _The genius plan was to steal a mission and complete it, thus having the right to shove the completed job's flier in those stinky brats' faces, proving them that she was a real mage._

 _"That's an S-Class quest. How are you planning on finishing that?"_

 _"Just trust me, will ya?" told her Sakura before she made her way towards the woods._

 _"I'm going with you," sighed Thalia and followed her friend._

 _Neither of them spoke as they entered the forest. Sakura was skipping ahead, the thought of going on an adventure excited her so much, she couldn't find the words to describe it. Thalia was on watch the whole time, silently praying for the pinkette to change her mind._

 _Sakura suddenly stopped as she heard sniffling sounds from someone who was close by. It was too far for Thalia to hear it, but she already knew how her friend's senses worked. They hurried in the sound's direction, and ended up finding a small grey cat._

 _"Hey, it's okay, don't cry," cooed Sakura. The kitten lifted her head and the girls could see pure fear in its green eyes._

 _"Are you lost?" asked Thalia as she kneeled in front of the animal._

 _She wasn't actually expecting an answer, so they were both pretty surprised when the cat opened its mouth to speak. "I wandered too far. I wanna go home."_

 _"We can help you get home," said Sakura, kneeling next to Thalia. "What's your name? I'm Sakura, and this is Thalia, my bestest friend."_

 _"My name is..." mumbled the female kitten as she hiccuped, wiping the tears from her eyes. "My name is Beatrice."_

* * *

Luna hasn't summoned the cat spirit since a few days now. She didn't want to hear him reject her again.

She heard about what happened to her sister, and she felt bad for her, just like everyone at the guild. Luna knew that one reason why Sakura locked herself in was because she was afraid of being ridiculed. She failed the mission and her client passed away. That was, well, uncommon, no matter how dangerous the life of a mage was.

But there was also something else that everyone except the younger ones knew. Luna never cared to ask, thinking that if they didn't tell her, then they didn't want her to know. She didn't quite understand why, and she was slightly hurt by that.

'What do you think happened?' asked Astrid as they were sitting at their usual spot in the guild. The youngest Redfox was just as curious as she was, and all this secrecy was starting to get on her nerves.

'We shouldn't stress it,' answered Luna with a timid smile.

'You're so frustrating! Don't you ever get angry or something?' growled the black-haired mage as she crossed her arms.

Luna just kept petting Botan, who was sitting in her lap, cooing at her. To be honest, she didn't know the answer to that question herself. She felt like getting angry over trivial things was normal, but so many conflicts could be avoided if people were to think things through with a calm mind.

They didn't notice that their guildmates' gazes sometimes shifted in their direction. Neither of Natsu and Lucy's perky daughters were being perky anymore, and it somehow ruined the entire dynamic of the guild. Everyone wished for these dark clouds above their heads to just disappear.

* * *

 _"Fire Dragon's Roar!" roared Sakura as she shot a breath attack in the monster's way. The mission was to retrieve an egg from a giant wyvern, but nothing worked against the thing._

" _Water Nebula!" yelled Thalia as she tried her best to keep the flying creature away. She knew this was a bad idea, she even said so._

 _But she wasn't able to keep up, she felt her magic starting to drain as the wyvern swooped down, but she dodged in time. Beatrice flew away a long time ago to call for help. Thalia looked over to Sakura and quickly made up her mind._

 _The small female Dragon Slayer was frozen in fear as the big creature came closer and closer. She realized that she wouldn't have time to act, so she squeezed her eyes shut and braced herself for the impact, but it never came._

 _She shakily opened one eye to see her best friend fall limply to the ground._

 _"THALIA!"_

* * *

The Blood Red-Haired Brothers were completing a job in Clover. Every guild received a clue that there were some shady people around who wanted to crush the upcoming guild master meeting. Well, Karma and Castiel split up and both found possible threats, then met up again to discuss the situation. They tied the suspicious people up separately, in case they decided to plan a rescue mission together.

'What were you planning to do about the meeting?' asked Castiel, sending a hard glare to the man they were currently interrogating.

'You would like to know, wouldn't you?' asked the guy smirking.

'Yes, that's why we're asking, duh!' Karma rolled his eyes. 'But if you don't want to tell us, that's okay,' he said before putting his face close to the man's. 'Because I can make you talk.'

He walked a few steps and picked up an empty bottle. 'R-Right, a brat like you can't possibly- Eeek!' The man shrieked as Karma smashed the bottle on the wall next to his head, then lowered the sharp and broken remains to his chin.

'I like this shade of green,' the boy stated, glancing at the bottle in his hand. 'But I also like brown.' Karma moved the "weapon" slightly, which grazed the skin on the man's neck, and the red of his blood painted the spikes of the green bottle's remains brown.

'That's enough, Karma,' ordered Castiel and Karma looked back at him, pretending to look hurt.

'What, no "nii-san"?' Castiel's eyes narrowed, then tossed the criminal back to the others. 'Oooh, somebody's angry. You do realize we didn't get any info out of him yet, right?'

Castiel opened his mouth to retort back something undoubtedly insulting, but instead he leaned back just in time to not have his head chopped off. They both watched as a cloaked person jumped down from the building they were standing under. He had a gigantic scythe, which he spun around quite expertly.

The brothers attacked him at the same time. Castiel summoned a sword, but the attacker blocked with the handle of his scythe, and was even able to dodge Karma's Meteor spell. Castiel started to change into one of his armors, but the cloaked figure made an unbelievable maneuver to get out from between the twins, and Castiel's eyes widened as Karma slammed into him with the speed of a meteor.

Bloodcurdling screams echoed throughout the alley, and the brothers picked themselves up to see the huge scythe cut down all of their captives. Karma watched perplexed as the figure started to escape, but Castiel summoned another sword and managed to cut off some parts of clothing before the guy disappeared. However, he froze when he caught sight of the man's (he knew it was definitely a male now) guild mark.

'You okay, little bro?' asked Karma in a surprisingly caring tone.

'13 minutes and 8 seconds,' grumbled Castiel as he was snapped out of his shock. 'You're only older by 13 minutes and 8 seconds.'

'That's 13 minutes and 8 seconds of life you'll never have,' smirked the elder twin. 'Especially if you die now, 'cause then I'll live longer. That thing almost opened up your skull, you scared me.'

'I'm sorry,' muttered Castiel, but Karma's eyebrows flew up to the middle of his forehead.

'Why are you apologizing? This is just our usual routine. Or are you saying you don't want to do it anymore? Not to sound twincest-y or anything, but I'll break up with you if you don't appreciate my charms.'

Castiel's lips curled into a small smile at his brother's blabbering. 'As if you could, Nii-san.'

Karma grinned in satisfaction before looking at the corpses with pity. 'We don't have to worry about _these_ guys anymore.'

'Yeah, we have to worry about _that_ guy,' growled Castiel before breaking the news. 'He's a howler.'

Karma snapped his head towards the Equip mage so fast that he almost lost his balance and fell over.

'You're joking, right?' he asked with hopeful eyes.

'I wish I were.'

* * *

 _Lucy had a strict speech ready about how disappointed she was and how Sakura shouldn't do anything like this again, but when she caught sight of her child's bandages and tear strained face, every intention she previously had of lecturing her went out the window. The mother scooped her daughter up in her arms, holding her tightly to her chest._

 _Sakura hugged her mom back and would've started sobbing, if she would've had any tears left. She understood that she did something bad, because even Wendy wouldn't smile at her. She swore she would never do it again, she just wanted to see Thalia, but that grumpy old lady wouldn't let her in!_

 _When the door finally opened, the old lady left, while Wendy told everyone that they could come into the infirmary, but only one at a time. Since Thalia's parents were already in there with her, Sakura took the chance and dashed into the room._

 _The small black-haired girl was sitting on the bed while her mother was hugging the life out of her. Gray spotted Sakura first, and patted Juvia's arm, then they both left the room reluctantly._

 _"Thalia!" yelled Sakura as she hugged her friend, while Beatrice flew on top of her head, sobbing. A few tears rolled down Sakura's face too from the incomprehensible amount of joy and relief she was feeling._

 _"Are you okay?" asked Thalia, but her face showed no emotion, as always._

 _"_ You're _asking_ me _?" Sakura laughed. "I'm perfectly fine! But what about you?"_

 _"I'm alright."_

 _"I'm so sorry," said Sakura after a few seconds of silence._

 _"You don't have to be. I followed you."_

 _"But it was my idea!" Sakura hugged her again. "I will never do anything like that again, I promise! I don't care what those bullies think anymore! I'm going to get stronger, so you don't have to protect me anymore, okay? And I'll find your parents too, Beatrice!" said Sakura, and the grey exceed nodded._

 _"I'm counting on you," whispered Thalia as she hugged her back tightly._

 _Downstairs the adults who came to the kids' rescue were strangely silent, but so was the rest of the guild. They almost lost one of their own that day._

 _Outside a pink-haired man was leaning against the front door. Natsu hated silence, especially when it was caused by something like this. He was one of those S-Class mages that were sent after the girls. His heart stopped at the sight of his daughter bloodied and beaten, but he couldn't even imagine what Gray must have felt._

Speak of the devil…

 _"Only_ your _daughter would do something incredibly stupid like this," said Gray as he leaned on the doorframe next to him._

 _"Only_ your _daughter would go after mine."_

 _"Touché." The Ice mage let out a small chuckle. "Reminds you of old times, doesn't it?"_

* * *

 _The next day Sakura decided to start her change. She left the guild with Beatrice at her side to visit the grumpy old lady, and hopefully to find the exceed's family._

 _She knocked on her door as soon as she found the woman's cabin in the woods, and the old lady yanked it open, glaring at the younger pinkette._

 _"Go home, I hate humans!" she said before slamming the door in the child's face._

 _To Porlyusica's joy she came tomorrow, the day after that, and after that, and after a month the old woman was about to go insane._

 _"Leave me alone!" she yelled in the girl's face, but Sakura stared back at her, her gaze never wavering._

 _"Please teach me, lady!" she asked her for the thousandth time, and Porlyusica sighed._

 _"If we're going to do this, you're going to have to stop calling me old lady." A gigantic smile appeared on the girl's lips. "I'm Porlyusica."_

 _Sakura blinked at her. "That's too difficult to say. I'll just keep calling you old la- Ow!"_

 _"You either call me by my name or go home!" roared Porlyusica after hitting the child's head with the handle of her broom._

* * *

Laxus was pacing back and forth in his office, grumbling and swearing under his breath. With the guild being as rowdy as it was, he couldn't think clearly. There was a lot of paperwork to do and apology letters to write, but that wasn't his main focus at the moment.

The new Balam Alliance started acting out. Through the Fernandes twins' report and during the guild master meeting he found out that the pact wasn't only between three main dark guilds like before, and _holy hell_ it was bad. There were at least six guilds, two of them so dangerous that he wouldn't let his _adult_ kids anywhere near them.

He sort of had to, though. These guilds needed to be destroyed as fast as possible, _before_ they made a move.

Another intimidating thing was that they didn't have information on the sixth guild. Its guild master was apparently the "leader" of the whole thing, but they never left behind anything that could help figure out their location or the members' identities.

And the Magic Council members were just sitting on their asses, not doing anything. Laxus would've loved to go up to them and give them a motivating punch of _heartfelt friendship_ , but instead he was thinking about doing something that would turn out both better and worse, that he was sure of.

'Mira, please give me some ice with double whisky,' he said tiredly as he sat on the stool that was reserved only for him.

'Alright,' spoke Mira quietly, giving her husband a glass of water next to his order. She knew that no matter how strong he made himself look like, Laxus couldn't handle whisky at all. She stared at him with worried eyes, knowing how he was unable to sleep well for a few days now. But somehow she also knew that Laxus wasn't here to get drunk, it was more like he needed a little bit of liquid courage.

* * *

 _A few weeks after training with Porlyusica, Sakura was collecting herbs with Beatrice when the kitten suddenly gasped._

 _"What is it, Beatrice?"_

 _"I recognize this place! I live behind those trees!" exclaimed Beatrice before flying over there._

 _Sakura dropped everything and ran after her friend. She was amazed when she found a small exceed village behind the trees Beatrice mentioned. Everything was so small, it was adorable._

 _"Bee-nee-chan!" called a smaller brown exceed as he ran out to hug Beatrice._

 _"You have a little brother too?" asked Sakura, and Beatrice's entire family stared up at her._

 _"Yes! It might have slipped from my mind, since Barry is so small."_

 _At that the baby exceed started crying, and the parents scolded Beatrice, who tried to look as sorry as possible._

 _"I'm glad you found your home," said Sakura as she felt her eyes water. "I have to go back now. It was nice to meet you all."_

 _Beatrice stared after the girl for a while before apologizing to her parents and following her._

 _"Sakura, wait up!" The small girl quickly wiped her tears away before she turned around to face her exceed friend. "I'm staying with you!"_

 _"Eh?"_

 _"Fairy Tail is so much fun! Besides, now I know how to get to my village, so I can visit anytime I want!_

 _Two years later Sakura was speeding towards Porlyusica's house. They've grown considerably closer during these two years, and Sakura thought of the old lady as the grandma she never had. She even allowed Luna to come with them to collect herbs when Sakura was charged with keeping a watch on her._

 _However, every life comes to an end at some point. And this woman lived a freakishly long life as it is. She was taking her last breaths when Sakura busted into her house and knelt by her bed._

 _"Accepting you as my student was one of the best decisions I've ever made. You're talented, so don't let my teachings go to waste, or I'll come back and haunt you!" said Porlyusica, before she closed her eyes forever, and Sakura burst into tears._

* * *

This was actually the first time Sakura stepped foot into this area.

She grew up in the house next to it, but she never had the courage to see what the forest's part behind their cottage was like. On the other hand, her little sister had been taking strolls inside from the day she could walk, so it couldn't be that bad. The forest was located on the outskirts of Magnolia, in fact it surrounded the entire town, so it was divided into four fractions. She didn't even know which fraction this place belonged to. Because of its size, the forest itself was very deep. Probably even Luna haven't reached the other side of it yet, no matter how much time she spent here.

Sakura thought this would be a great opportunity to breathe in some fresh air and clear her head. It took her a week to take Luna's advice, but she realized she desperately needed a walk. Here she could be alone, deep within her thoughts, but surrounded by life at the same time. There weren't many places like that in the world.

She suddenly came to a halt as a familiar metallic scent reached her nose. She started to come back to reality as she realized she was somewhere _very_ far from home. Panic swelled up inside her for a second before she mentally slapped herself.

 _You're a Dragon Slayer! Smell your way home! Wait, smell..._

Sakura's eyes widened as another wave of that sickening smell overwhelmed her senses.

 _Blood, human blood. Someone's here, and that someone is bleeding!_

She took off running in the direction of the smell. She didn't care that she was getting farther away from home, someone was injured and even though she failed to protect Kain, she could save this person.

 _I_ _ **will**_ _save them!_

She didn't know how long she ran until she reached her destination, but her lungs felt like they were on fire (no pun intended). In front of her was a person, wearing obviously too much clothing for this season, or any season for that matter (a jacket, a vest, a hat, a scarf, fingerless gloves?), and they were soaked in the crimson liquid that seemed to come from _everywhere_. The figure was panting and wheezing, clutching their side and chest. Sakura stood in shock for a moment, and it was enough time for her to catch her breath. The stranger, as if sensing her presence, whipped their head in her direction, and the first things she could see were two yellow irises that made her freeze.

The person was a young man, probably in his early twenties, with black hair and a lean figure. They stared at each other for at least 2 tense minutes, until he suddenly took a step forward and fell face first to the ground. Sakura jumped at the loud thud and ran to his side, already inspecting his injuries. She started to take off the clothing from his upper body, trying to disregard the fact that she was _undressing_ a boy. Normally she should have turned red at the sight of his toned muscles, but her eyes widened in horror instead. There was a huge gash on his chest, blood constantly oozing out of it.

Sakura immediately began to work, her hands glowing soft blue. She knew she couldn't heal him completely, but she did all she could with her healing spell, almost passing out after hours of pumping magic into his system, stopping the bleeding and shrinking the cuts.

When she decided that potions and bandages would be the only things that could help from now on, she wiped her forehead and stood to run home for supplies. She felt dizzy and exhausted, she almost tripped over her feet several times, but she needed to hurry home. She couldn't drag him with her, it wouldn't bode well with his injuries.

Adrenalin was pumping through her veins, and the road to home didn't feel as long as it was on the way there. She packed the med kit, some of her own potions and the leftover food from yesterday into the bag she used for missions, and ran back. She felt like she was going to collapse any second, but she couldn't allow herself such luxuries, not when she was needed.

Using her heightened sense of smell she was able to find him fast, but when she stopped by the tree where he first collapsed, she found the spot empty. She caught a glimpse of black from behind the tree.

 _He must have tried to get away._

Sakura made her way to the other side of the tree, and came face to face with the man whose life she was desperately trying to save.

* * *

 **I always wanted to try the cliffhanger thingy and wonder how many people I can annoy with it.**

 **Edit: I'm so sorry, but I'm tragically horrible at math.**

 **The quote is from the anime Durarara ! !**


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note: Welcome to my safe haven!  
**

 **This is a little bit of everything and I'm not sure if it turned out quite right... Oh well!**

 **I hope you're all aware that _I don't own Fairy Tail!_**

* * *

 _ **Little Lion Man**_

 **"Your grace is wasted in your face, your boldness stands alone among the wreck..."**

 **xXxXx**

Yellow irises widened in surprise, then narrowed to slits in caution. The man took a few steps back, his hand holding onto his side. Sakura knew that there was a pretty ugly bruise there, and it would leave a scar if he would continue to struggle like this.

'Don't worry, you can calm down. I'm here to help you,' she tried to explain, but he continued glaring a hole in her head.

 _He looks like a stray cat with those eyes._

'I already healed the worst of your wounds, but they will reopen if I don't bandage them up,' she said as she opened her bag, feeling him tense. 'Look, I even brought you something to eat. It will help you get better.'

His eyes widened for a second, the emotions flashing behind those cat-like irises of his were confusing her, as she couldn't read any of them. Sakura sighed before she walked over to a bush, tore off a branch and made a small cut on her arm with it. She took her medicine out of her bag and smeared it around her injury, looking back at the stray boy, who looked at her with big, confused, yet understanding eyes. She bandaged up her arm, then looked back at him as he promptly sat down where he was. Sakura walked towards him slowly, afraid that if she were to move any faster she'd scare him, like she were to scare a wild animal in a similar situation.

They sat in silence as she cleaned his wounds, she was surprised that he took it so well. When she reached his chest he let out a loud hiss, but that was it. Then she started on his hairline, and he kept staring at her with those eyes of his, and she felt both annoyed and intrigued.

She held back a relieved sigh as she leaned back to admire her work, her not being the only one.

'You _are_ good at this.'

She jumped a little at hearing his voice for the first time. He sounded tired, but nevertheless impressed.

'I have experience,' she said as she put away the supplies and took out the leftovers, giving it to him.

He stared at it for a few seconds before accepting it without a word. Sakura pouted slightly, a short "Thank you" would have felt nice but _oh well_ , she wasn't going to push him if he wasn't ready.

'What's your name?'

He stopped unwrapping the contents of the plate he was given, frozen in place. Sakura wondered if she shouldn't have asked, he clearly had some issu-

'Obi.'

'My name is Sakura,' she smiled hopefully, but he only nodded at her, 'Do you have a place to stay?'

'This is good enough,' he said as he looked around.

 _So he does have issues._

If the situation would have been different, she might have continued nagging him, but she knew he needed time, and especially space, so she was going to give it to him.

'Do you plan on leaving soon?'

'... Don't know,' he replied, looking at her, his eyes wary.

'Then I'll come by tomorrow,' she said, 'I have to change your bandages.'

Obi didn't say anything, just watched as she started to leave the forest. She only took a few steps when he saw her froze and she ran back to get her bag, sending a sheepish smile in his way.

 _That was awkward_ , she thought as she quickly walked away, well aware that he was still staring after her.

* * *

'What an idiot,' mumbled Gajeel angrily. 'What an idiot guild master.'

Truth be told, Gajeel's relationship with Laxus wasn't exactly what you could call smooth. Both remembered their fights from long ago, and it made their talks uncomfortable and awkward. There was no ill mean between them anymore, they just simply felt guilty for the trouble they caused for the other. And because neither of them was the talkative type, they never reached the level where apologies could be said and accepted.

'What is he thinking?' he continued grumbling, 'I mean I'm fine with it, but…' Gajeel sighed.

The day started out as any other. He was sitting in his usual place, talking with Lily, munching on his iron, keeping tabs on any boys that would come closer than twenty feet to her daughters, when he was summoned to the guild master's office. It reminded Gajeel of old times, but those ended with old man Makarov's passing. At least that's what he thought, until Laxus asked him to do something he used to do for the previous master. And he looked so much like his grandfather while doing so that for a second Gajeel forgot about the unpleasant air that usually surrounded them.

 _Well, it's not my problem for now_ , he thought as he sat back at the table he left his bowl of iron on. He was able to leave it like that without worrying that someone might steal it, as he was the only one who was able to consume it in the entire guild, other than his son, but the kid would rather jump off a cliff than steal from someone, especially from his father.

But there was something wrong. He couldn't put his finger on it, it just felt wrong. Lily wasn't there, but it wasn't like he expected the exceed to wait for him there. He was a part of this guild, he could do whatever he wanted. When he took one piece of iron in his hand, its color wasn't quite right. He didn't think anything of it, it was probably the light playing tricks on his eyes.

The only problem was that he had eyes like a dragon. You can't possibly trick a dragon's eyes. And he realized this only when he took a bite out of the piece of iron. Which, turns out, really wasn't iron.

'Those shitty brats!' he roared after he spit out the silver painted plastic.

On the other side of the guild, the three musketeers plus one (as Karma liked to call them) ran out the backdoor after hearing Gajeel's enraged yell. Jessiel decided it was the best prank they've done so far, Ronan pointed out that he always says that, Percy started praising himself for the incredible prank idea, and Malcon was arguing with him over the right of who came up with it. They sort of had a head start, so they weren't that worried about getting punished by the older Iron Dragon Slayer. But since he was an adult, he had longer legs, so Ronan calculated that he would catch up with them soon. They ran out into the street, the people passing by payed them no attention, already knowing how their little chase went down every other day.

'I know! Let's hide in that shop!' shouted Jessiel, pointing to a small boutique that had, without a doubt, the ugliest and most expensive clothes they had ever seen, so Gajeel definitely wouldn't go in there.

'He's a Dragon Slayer, he can smell us,' said Ronan, his voice higher than it should be because of the intense fear and panic he was feeling.

'Aw, man!' whined Jessiel. 'Why did we prank a Dragon Slayer again?'

'Because Malcon said it would be exciting,' said Percy, looking at the cat with the best "Look what you've done!" stare he could muster.

'Didn't you say just a second ago that it was your idea all along?' asked Malcon, looking at Percy indignantly.

'Can we just keep going?' spoke up Ronan, his expression panicked. He was a Dragon Slayer as well, and he was able to smell Gajeel coming. But since his nose wasn't as good as the older ones', their chaser was probably pretty close by now.

They all agreed to continue running, and they soon ended up in an abandoned alley, filled with abandoned trash. Jessiel said they can cover their smell with it, Ronan agreed that they should try, Percy jumped in one of the bins, and Malcon joined him.

The kids had no idea how long they were sitting in the dumpster (no pun intended), but after what felt like an hour – just to be safe – they climbed out. They looked around carefully, and after not detecting any danger, Jessiel took the lead as usual. He had a full-blown grin on his face, silently celebrating another victory, when he bumped into somebody. He looked up to see that somebody had no shirt on, but had a very ugly nose – or was that a nose ring? – and four comrades, all looking pissed for some reason.

'Are you lost, kid?' asked the shirtless guy.

'Um, no, thank you,' answered Jessiel as he took a step backwards. He was starting to have a bad feeling about this.

'Are you from Fairy Tail?'

Jessiel didn't know how he knew that – he probably saw Percy's guild mark on his shoulder –, but he didn't care, either. He just wanted to get out of here as fast as possible.

'So, what if I am?' he asked back, trying to control his voice so he wouldn't sound as scared as he actually was.

'Then I'd like to give a message to one of your buddies,' cackled the man, cracking his knuckles. Jessiel visibly gulped, then turned around to yell at Percy. He was the one with the Crush magic, after all. He was the one who had the power to, well, crush everything and everyone in their path.

His eyes widened, however, as he saw his friends being held down by the guys' comrades. Jessiel didn't even see them move! The odds weren't in his favor. Well, they weren't before, either. There was five of these unnerving shirtless monkeys, and there was four of them, three were kids and the fourth one was a cat. They didn't have the slightest chance to win from the very beginning.

* * *

Luna was back to square one. She was at home, in her room, sitting in her chair at her desk. She stood up, walked over to her window, leaned against it, let out a sigh, then closed the curtains. She sat on her bed, adjusted the pink comforter, picked up a pillow and buried her head in it. She put it back to its place, stood up, then walked over to sit at her desk. She walked over to her window, pulled the curtains away, and repeated the whole cycle.

Her sister seemed to be winning against her inner demons, so she hoped that maybe she could do the same, but she wasn't half as brave or smart as Sakura was. Maybe that was why she couldn't figure out the reason the cat spirit hated her guts.

 _Not just yours_ , she reminded herself. She was both relieved and saddened after realizing this.

She sighed as she lifted his key, having a staring contest with the carved animal's ruby eyes. If only she could do that with the real one! People would probably take her more seriously if she showed some backbone, but…

'Open, Gate of the Cat!' she shouted out loud after squeezing her eyes shut. She didn't know what came over her, but now that she summoned him, she had to do something.

'Would you stop doing that?' asked the very annoyed cat spirit, currently in its cat form.

'I'm sorry, but I can't. Listen-'

'Oh boy, here we go again,' he cut her off, rolling his eyes.

'Listen, please,' she finished, her heart feeling heavier by the words he spoke. 'I'd do anything, if you would just let me help you.'

'… Anything?'

Luna's eyes widened at the consideration in his voice. 'Yes!'

'Bring me some cheese!' commanded the kitty.

Luna frowned. She knew that exceeds had different tastes, kind of like humans. For example, Lily liked kiwi fruit, Malcon loved chili, Beatrice and Barry's favorite hobby was munching on cinnamon cookies, and Carla preferred tea. Compared to them, Happy and Corban's love for fish was too basic. But the spirit in front of her was basically a cat, so why did he eat mouse food?

Well, he was basically a human too.

 _Technically speaking, he is neither_ , Luna scolded herself, _he's a Celestial Spirit_.

After that moment of hesitation, the girl ran to the kitchen. The spirit's ruby eyes sparkled with amusement at her quick reaction time and willingness to do _anything_ he asked for. She returned with some Cheddar, and the cat raised an eyebrow before clicking his tongue.

'Don't you have Camembert?

'I, uh, no?' stuttered Luna. The Dragneels didn't really eat cheese in general, so she was a little bit worried about giving this piece to him as it is. It could've been years old, but no one would've known, because the wrapping was completely torn, which was a clear evidence showing that the culprit was Ryū. But the dairy product didn't smell yet, so she assumed it was safe.

'Would you like anything else?'

'A glass of water, please!' And the pinkette ran back into the kitchen, smiling to herself because he said "please", then returned only a few seconds later with his water. The spirit changed into his human form and accepted the water from her. He took a sip, then grimaced.

'What's wrong?' asked Luna, worried that she did something wrong.

'Bring me some ice! This water isn't cold enough.' She nodded, and brought some ice cubes in her bare hand. 'Now it's better,' he commented after taking another sip.

'I'm glad!' Luna smiled at him sincerely. 'What else can I do for you?'

'Let me free.'

'Eh?'

The Celestial wizard didn't understand what he meant, but he didn't look like he was about to repeat it anytime soon. He just kept staring at her, and Luna summoned up all of her courage so she could stare back at the boy, pretending to be confident. The spirit smirked at how hard she was trying, then rephrased his request.

'Support my gate with your magic, while I take a stroll around town. You're such a great Celestial Spirit mage, anyways. I'm sure you can do it.'

Luna recognized the hidden jest in his wods, but she wasn't about to step down, not when she came this far, even though she didn't know how far this was. Besides, she was able to summon two spirits at once, she was going to be fine.

'Alright, you won't even feel a thing.'

* * *

The news spread like wildfire.

Fairy Tail's precious child members were attacked by none other than Mystic Mustang mages. They were tied to a tree in the park, unconscious and wounded. It reminded the guild of one of their darkest days back then, and the one who caused that attack remembered just as clearly.

Gajeel still blamed himself for that. He blamed himself for this one, too. If only he continued to look for them, if only he didn't chase them out of the guild, _if only_ , _if only, if only_.

He felt a hand on his arm. He didn't look down, but he knew it belonged to his wife. He recognized the small palms, the short fingers, and the way they calmed his nerves immediately. Levy also remembered their first meeting, but right now she just wanted her husband to stop blaming himself. She didn't know if it worked, but he felt his muscles relax under her touch, and she was glad she able to accomplish at least this much.

After untying the kids the entire guild was buzzing with quiet threats the members shared with each other regarding the dark guild. Makarov would've been so infuriated that he would've lead them to the Mustang's guild and would've crushed them by now. But Laxus not was his grandfather, which he made clear more times than he (or anyone for that matter) could remember.

Gajeel wasn't the only one who felt guilty. Those guys left a message after all, that was meant for the whole guild, and not at the same time. More specifically, it was for Ryū. He was the one who snatched their target away from them back in Oshibana, and he was the one who picked a fight with them. If it was anybody's fault, then it was his.

But guilt turned to desire for revenge very quickly, and Karma was asked to keep Ryū under control.

 _Looking back, it might have been a bad idea_ , thought Castiel as he entered the guild's backyard. He walked around the pool, waving at Max who was selling the members' miniature copies. Castiel averted his gaze after finding his own doll, still not liking the idea of his own face on something that wasn't his head. You would think that he got used to it a long time ago, since he grew up with a twin who basically has the same face.

'What is going on here, Nii-san?' he asked from his brother, after finding him at the very back of the garden.

He walked into a comically strange sight, but _that_ he was used to seeing, since he grew up with a twin who liked these sorts of things. Ryū was hanging upside down, tied to a branch of a tree, and Karma was standing next to him, tickling his nose with a feather. Somewhere in the back of the Exuip mage's mind he remembered Karma doing this to a target on one of their jobs.

'You told me to keep Ryū in check,' said Karma, raising his voice so his twin could him over the dragon boy's laughter.

'I- But-' Castiel let out a tired sigh. 'Okay, yeah, I get that, kind of. But why is Storm tied up next to him?'

Karma looked to his left, where an almost naked Storm was hanging from another branch. Karma walked over and tickled his feet, which was the Ice mage's ultimate weakness. He burst out laughing, but Castiel could see the plea for help in his gaze.

'He wanted to use Ryū as a punching bag, like, quite literally. Which sounds very tempting, if I may add.'

'No, you may not!' yelled Ryū from his spot.

'… So you just tied him up too?'

'Well…' trailed off Karma as he tickled Storm's feet again. 'Yeah?'

' _Okay._ '

'Stop fooling around, Karma,' said a female voice in a commanding tone, and the twins stiffened at the same time. 'Release them at once!'

Karma obeyed his mother's orders right away. He sometimes decided to try and play like the rebellious teen he was, but Erza's glare was so intimidating that all of his pieces would usually fall before the "check", let alone reaching "checkmate". This time he wasn't even about to try. Erza looked frustrated, and Karma wasn't a fool. He was far from it, actually, so he knew he had to bring out the white flag and admit defeat before the match even started.

But it might have been a mistake to set the pawns free so early.

'What the hell did you do, Lizard Head?' snarled Storm as he grabbed Ryū by the collar of his shirt.

'Storm, that's enough!' ordered Erza, and Storm reluctantly let go of the blonde. 'It wasn't Ryū's fault.'

'Yes, it was,' muttered Ryū.

'He even admits it!' yelled Storm.

'It's not his fault!' Erza raised her voice to make sure he understood, then grabbed the other boy by his shoulders. 'It's not your fault, got it?'

Ryū nodded, not because he agreed, but because the woman's eyes made him do so. Seeing his resolution, Erza let go of him with a satisfied smile that disappeared as she turned to Storm.

'Storm, get dressed!' she commanded before leaving the teens.

Storm sent one last suspicious glare to Ryū before he went off to search for his lost garnets. The twins looked at each other, then back at the blonde, who sat down with a sigh. They stood on either side of him with folded arms and identical small smiles. Ryū lifted his gaze, finding their mirror-like acting unncomfortable.

'So what was this argument about _that_ being your fault?' questioned Castiel in a tone that suspiciously sounded like Erza's.

'I met them in Oshibana on my previous job,' replied Ryū as he turned to study the grass around him.

'You beat them up good, right? Ow!' Even with his eyes on the ground, Ryū could practically see Castiel whacking his brother on the back of his head.

'Not good enough, it seems,' retorted the Dragon Slayer. He exhaled loudly as he ran a hand through his hair. 'Actually, my attacks didn't work on them.'

'What do you mean they didn't work?'

'They weren't immune to it, if that's what you're thinking,' said Ryū. He wasn't sure which twin asked the previous question (probably both), but at his answer he heard them sigh in relief (definitely both). 'They were just ridiculously strong.'

'Doesn't that just sound amazing?' grumbled Karma before sitting down next to the blonde.

'Are you suggesting we give up?' asked Castiel, his brows furrowed and his eyes hard.

'Of course not,' growled Karma irritated. He hated when his clone tried to read his mind. 'I'm just saying it makes things more complicated. Don't forget that I'm the one everyone is counting on to come up with a plan.'

'The master never said anything about-' protested Castiel, but Karma cut him off.

'The master is waiting for something. I don't know what that is, but I do know that a good plan is also part of it.'

* * *

Getting dressed was easier said than done, at least for Storm Fullbuster.

He silently cursed his sister for not "inheriting" this stupid habit. Well, not _completely_. Many failed to notice, but Storm was pretty sure he sometimes saw Thalia's shawl disappear and then reappear on her shoulders a few minutes later. Which really wasn't fair. He had to look for his clothes, and most of the time he wasn't even be able to find all of them, as embarrassing as it sounds.

And it was indeed embarrassing when he had to look for them underneath tables and chairs, with only his boxers on. It wasn't that others were staring at him, because they weren't, since it was a normal occurrence in the guild.

'Are you looking for these?'

He jumped at the sweet voice coming from behind him, hitting his head in the process. He quickly rose from under the table and looked down at Luna's timidly smiling face, then his gaze snapped to the pieces of clothing in her hands.

'How- I mean... _Where_ did you find them?' he asked, cringing as he waited for her answer.

'Everywhere, really,' she replied, giggling. 'I had a hunch you're still going to need them.'

'Thanks,' muttered Storm as she passed him his clothing.

'I'm sorry if Botan bothers you,' she said while looking down, suddenly finding her shoes very interesting. 'I won't summon him into the guild again.'

Storm would be lying if he said that didn't catch him off guard. The snowman-like creature did annoy him, but he also grew fond of it, somehow. He was used to looking behind him and finding that thing with Luna. It gave him more chance to talk to her. If anything, he was grateful for the little spirit.

'No, it's okay. I'm used to it now, I'd start missing him,' he said chuckling.

From the other side of the guild, Mira was watching them from behind the bar counter, and Cana used that as an opportunity to sneak behind the Take-Over mage to get something from the basement. She was still at it when Cana returned, so she just took her usual seat and tried to open the bottle she had with her.

'Last night was rough, wasn't it?' asked Mira as she handed Cana a bottle opener.

'Yeah, poor Wendy cried a lot.'

'You seem to be handling it rather well.'

'Yeah, _well_ ,' Cana stopped to open the bottle of wine that Mira knew was from Makarov's old and precious collection, which was carefully hidden somewhere in the basement. Since the old man's death Cana had more than enough time to look for it without looking suspicious.

'Does Bacchus know?'

Mira also knew that Cana didn't drink expensive wine unless she had something she needed to deal with, but didn't want to.

'Haven't told him yet. That kid will get into more shit when he gets older, anyway. Until then, I try not think about it so I won't ruin myself,' she muttered before she took a swig from the bottle, completely ignoring the glass Mira just pulled out from the bar cabinet. 'I have to keep myself sane so I can go crazy with worry later. Seth was never this complicated, but Percy is nothing like his brother.'

'Yes, that's quite the confusing issue, isn't it? Siblings are always different, even though you raise them the same way,' said Mira sweetly as her gaze shifted to her own children, who were – as always – bickering and teasing each other.

'You call it confusing, I call it terrifying,' said Cana so quietly that Mira almost didn't hear it. 'What do you want from _those_ two, anyway?'

Mira started squealing and gushing and Cana immediately regretted asking. 'Storm and Luna are just _so_ cute! Look at how awkward they are!'

'I'm glad you enjoy their suffering,' chuckled Cana. 'But I wouldn't start this if I were you. If Natsu hears about this-'

'Yes, yes, he'll snap, and let's not forget Gray!' said Mira as her eyes lit up. 'Oh, this will be great! I can't wait until it happens!'

'You really are the devil.'

* * *

 **The quote is from the song Little Lion Man by Mumford & Sons.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note: Hiya!  
**

 **Virtual hugs for everybody!**

 **Remember when I said that I draw inspiration from already existing characters from other franchises? No, it's not stealing! Anyways, I regret nothing.  
**

 _ **If you're looking for the guy who owns Fairy Tail, he's**_ **not** _ **here! I'm**_ **not** _ **him! We don't even look alike!  
**_

* * *

 _ **To Fix and To Be Fixed**_

 **"Every solution to every problem is simple. It's the distance between the two where the mystery lies."**

 **xXxXx**

With all the things that happened that day, Sakura almost forgot.

 _Almost._

In her defense, members of legal guilds getting attacked wasn't a regular occurrence.

No matter how annoying the little brats were, they were part of their family, and it shook Sakura just as much as the others. Maybe even a little more, considering the fresh memories that haunted her dreams and turned them into nightmares, which was an after-effect she couldn't get over from her last job. Because of that, she almost broke down just as bad as Wendy, unlikely and unpleasant possibilities quickly overflowing her mind.

She was extremely relieved to hear that all four of the three musketeers were okay, and will continue wreaking havoc very soon. Never in a million years did the guild think that one day they would actually miss the boys' pranks.

So you really can't blame her for forgetting about that _little_ detail, that life she saved in the woods yesterday.

(She really shouldn't think about him like that, he was human too, after all.)

It was late afternoon when she was sitting in the living room, trying to find a distraction by reading one of her mother's books, so she didn't have to get involved in her dad and Ryū's disagreement. They didn't argue often, but when they did, a fire extinguisher or another Fire Dragon Slayer always came in handy. Same things happened when she was arguing with her brother, except that wasn't as uncommon.

The book she was reading was the first novel her mother won an award with, if Sakura recalled it correctly. Personally Sakura was a huge fan of Lucy's work, but this particular book was not one of her favorites. She had no idea why, she simply didn't enjoy it. She wanted to, she read it more times than the others, just so she would finally understand what was so award-winningly good about it.

She still didn't. She knew it word by word, but that didn't mean she liked it.

All those frustrating twists and turns and ridiculously perfect characters made her ponder about her own painfully confusing existence in this vast and cruel universe, and that was when it hit her.

She threw everything away and jumped up from the couch with blinding speed, bolted into her room then back and out of the door. She was sure her family would've thought something was up, but only the boys were home with her, and they were too preoccupied with their own banter to realize she even left the room.

She wanted to get to him before it got dark, as she had no interest in visiting forests in the nighttime, thank you very much. She didn't tell anyone about him, knowing he wouldn't want to, and because there was a chance she won't see him again anyway. She had a feeling he wouldn't be there, but some part of her hoped that he was waiting for her as she told him to.

Surprise and relief flooded her when she caught a glimpse of him up on the tree, under which they first met. He seemed to be alive and full of energy, jumping from one branch to another, and she was happy for him.

 _Like a monkey_ , she thought snickering.

She was also a little proud of her skills and good work.

As she got closer, she saw him climb down and lean against the tree, crossing his arms, then wincing in pain. She figured that the gash on his chest wouldn't be an easy case, it was the worst out of his injuries. Still, he was taking them far better than a normal civilian would, and this realization made her extra vigilant.

She made her way to his side in quick, long strides, already taking out her med kit. Without a word she changed his bandages, and he let her, choosing to remain silent as well.

For a little while.

'So, you're a wizard, huh?' she heard him ask, and as she lifted her gaze, she found him looking at her right hand.

'I am,' she answered, trying to hide the suspicion in her voice. Wendy healed her scratches just this morning, but yesterday her guild mark was hidden behind bandages. This was the first time Obi saw it, and Sakura was trying to find any kind of threat he could pose by knowing where she belonged.

'Fairy Tail,' he said while closing one eye, grimacing as she put the gauze around his chest. 'Its name is pretty well known around the land.'

'I'm aware.'

'Is it good?'

'Being in the guild, you mean?' she asked, then continued after his nod. 'It's amazing. We're like a big family.'

'Family is overrated,' he stated and she jerked away from him quickly.

'Excuse me? Are you insulting my guild?'

'No. It's more like I...' He looked down at his chest, her work wasn't over, but she refused to get closer to him for now. 'I reject the idea it is based on.'

'Family _is_ important,' she said as she scooted closer to finish taking care of his injury. 'We make each other stronger.'

'You depend on each other.'

'So what?' she spat out. 'That's what family is supposed to do.'

'Sure,' he shrugged nonchalantly, and she found herself getting angry for real. She decided she liked him better when he was silent. Now he was making irritating smartass comments and she had no idea how to deal with him, other than strangle him right then and there.

 _He's injured, you can't hurt him_ , Sakura reminded herself, but she was pretty sure that he would put up a good fight even if she tried.

'It's done for now, but I'll come back tomorrow.'

With that, she stood up and walked away. This time she failed to notice his stare on her back.

'I'll be here, then,' said Obi to himself as soon as he saw her disappear behind the green of the forest.

* * *

This beautiful morning Astrid was concentrating with every fiber of her being not to freak out. She was sitting at her crush's table, opposite from him, trying to produce a sound through her open mouth. His eyes were glued to the table, his hands subconsciously reaching up to play with the scarf around his neck. She had been sitting there for a whole ten minutes now, but he was so deep in thought he didn't even notice her. It was partly her fault, for she didn't do anything that could snap him out of his head and shift his attention to her.

When Corban declared he had enough of Ryū's absent mind Astrid saw it as an opportunity to exchange a few words with the blonde. She was aware of how he felt about the attack, and she wanted to help him, comfort him somehow. Her decision was so sudden it slipped from her mind that she barely knew how to talk to him. She doubted that if she started shouting at him he would feel better, so she's been trying to come up with something that _could_ help his case.

Dear Mavis, she was so bad at this!

He abruptly lifted his gaze to find her staring at him unblinkingly, and his eyes widened as he jumped from his chair, while Astrid started panicking.

 _Now he probably thinks you're a freak_ , she thought as she smiled at him awkwardly.

'H-Hi,' she said, praying to Mavis that he would disregard the fact that she was acting extremely weird and forget this ever happened.

'Um, hi,' he replied, sitting back down.

'Sorry for disturbing you, I just wanted to know if, uh, um…' She looked away after their eyes met, fiddling with the hem of her dress, cursing her brain for even thinking this would work. 'Are you alright?'

Ryū kept looking at her, his eyes and tone unsure. 'I'm fine.'

'And?' she asked again tentatively, knowing perfectly well that he wasn't "fine".

'And?' he asked back, brows furrowing to look confused, but his eyes betrayed him, telling Astrid he knew exactly what she was asking about.

'It's okay not to be fine!' She realized her tone was slowly slipping back to sounding annoyed, but it seemed he didn't notice the change yet.

'Why do you suddenly care?'

She was wrong, he did notice.

It didn't hurt any less, though.

'I always cared,' she muttered quietly, hoping he wouldn't hear. But he did, obviously.

 _Stupid me, always forgetting about his heightened senses!_

'Sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you. Of course you care, we're nakama,' he said, his tone dripping with guilt.

'Damn right,' she growled, rising from her seat and slamming her hand on the table. She realized she was acting like her not-so-appealing self again, and he flinched at the sudden change in her behavior. 'We're nakama, so if you don't spill it now I'm going to shove you into the pool outside, got it?'

He nodded vigorously, eyes as big as saucers, arms up in defense. Ryū knew a swim wouldn't actually hurt, but the way she looked at him was making him uneasy. 'O-Okay, I'll tell you! I swear!'

Heat flushed to her cheeks as she plopped back in her seat, desperately trying to avoid his gaze, feeling guilty for intimidating him into telling her his feelings. She didn't mean to, but this was what always happened when she talked to him. Her mom told her to try to act more sweet around him, but she knew right away that she couldn't keep that up for a longer period of time.

Her attention snapped back to him at hearing his tired sigh. 'I guess I'm just… I feel like it's my fault. On my last job I saved this supposedly rich man from their clutches, and they weren't happy. I don't see any other reason why they would attack Fairy Tail members.'

'That's not entirely accurate,' she quipped, feeling proud for sounding professional. He looked at her and when their eyes met again, she didn't tear her gaze away, hoping to reassure him of his innocence in this mess. 'It seems logical that they attacked the guild, probably because they see us as a threat. They basically just declared war on us, and it might have been caused by your unfortunate meeting with them, but it would've happened one day anyway. It just happened sooner than later.'

She couldn't possibly describe how she felt when she saw his mood brightening, knowing it was caused by her. The fluttering of the butterflies in her stomach became almost unbearable, and she started wondering how her head didn't combust yet from all the heat she felt in her cheeks. She was also embarrassed that Ryū would see her blush darker than Erza's hair, so she turned even redder, if possible.

'I suppose you're right. Thanks Astrid!' he said before flashing her his famous grin, and she suddenly felt very faint. 'Hey, you okay? Your face is all red, you should check your temperature, I think you might have a fever.'

Oh, right. She had nothing to worry about.

He was as dense as a brick wall.

* * *

In the grand scheme of things, this was simply a terrible idea. But of course, such simplicity wasn't allowed in this subject, Laxus's glare revealed that much. He knew that they knew about the complications, and he didn't seem to give a _flying crap_.

Perhaps this was what made Gray's stomach churn, or perhaps it was the uncomfortable atmosphere that came uninvited after the master's long explanation. Perhaps it was the way Lucy's head hung low, or the way Erza kept staring at the painting above the Lightning Dragon Slayer's head. He had to admit, it wasn't half bad. It was a basic painting of a cabin near the lake, surrounded by nature. But of course, its importance couldn't be described with such simple words, for the chicken scratch at the lower right side told them the creator was someone named Rita Dreyar, making it a precious family heirloom that the old man kept here, probably thinking all of the guild as the family he could share its beauty with.

What really made Gray want to rip his hair out bit by bit was Natsu's stillness.

Natsu was never still. Natsu was never quiet.

If he was, then this entire thing was truly, undoubtedly, _simply_ a bad idea.

'When?' was all Gray asked, slowly having enough of the "time to process everything" silence.

'Soon,' answered Laxus cryptically, and Gray's hand twitched, wanting to give the master a taste of his ice covered fist. 'We'll talk it over with Gajeel, I'll tell him you accepted it.'

It wasn't said as a question, but that's what it really was, and he knew they understood when the four gazes flickered in his direction at the same time.

Gray had a horrible feeling about this, his brain was screaming _NO_. They weren't the same unexperienced teenagers they were back then, when Zeref was on the loose, and yet it felt like it still wasn't enough. The only thing the Ice mage could imagine being worse was Acnologia, and they had defeated even him, so why was he so uncertain now?

They had stopped the _goddamn apocalypse_ , so why was he so uncertain _now_?

'Very well,' spoke Erza in that strict tone of hers, breaking Gray's train wreck of thought.

'How long would it be?' Gray heard Lucy asking softly. 'Just approximately.'

'I have no idea,' replied Laxus just as softly with equal honesty, understanding the fear of the mother who would have to leave her children behind with no parent to calm them _if_ something were to happen to the other one (even if said children weren't _children_ anymore).

'I don't like this.'

Gray released a breath he didn't realize he was holding in. _Finally_ someone said it! Honestly, he was counting on his beloved rival to voice his thoughts (which all four of them shared) a bit sooner.

 _He always had the worst timing_ , he mused with a small, rueful smile.

'Trust me, me neither,' grumbled Laxus, irritation starting to show on his features.

'Then why are we doing it?' growled the Fire Dragon Slayer. 'There must be a better way-'

'Like charge right into their guild?' asked Laxus bemused, quirking an eyebrow at the other dragon.

'After we found out where it is!' Natsu spat out.

'Which is exactly what I'm asking you to do.'

'That is _not_ what you're asking us to do,' said Natsu darkly, taking a step towards Laxus, but Lucy's fingers curled around his wrist, holding him back firmly.

'In a sense, it is,' said Erza, her eyes back on the painting. 'It's just a little bit more.'

 _A little bit?!_ ** _  
_**

'Even you know that you're wrong, Erza,' said Gray. He knew that this conversation got way out of hand, but he wanted to prove his point. 'You're just saying that because you would never disagree with what the master says.'

As the scarlet-haired warrior's objecting gaze snapped towards him, Gray turned and picked his shirt up from the floor. He slowly, hesitantly walked towards the door, his hand touched the handle, but he knew he wouldn't leave just yet. Not that he didn't want to, but because he could feel Laxus boring a hole in his head.

'Do you accept?'

Now the question was out, blatantly served on a silver platter, and the frustration that pulled it out of the master's mouth revealed how this discussion couldn't be ended with such simplicity as a small quarrel, as someone walking out on an important meeting. Gray's grip tightened on the door handle before he let out a dramatically loud sigh and a snide comment.

'Nice of you to ask, _Master_ , but you just made it clear that we don't have a say in the matter.'

* * *

Sakura was in deep thought as she entered the forest next to her house. The day was up again. This time she didn't even stop to think if he'll be there or not. She had other things to worry about.

The guild held a party when the boys woke up, which wasn't unusual, since Sakura was pretty sure there wasn't a guild that positive, other than Fairy Tail, anywhere in (or near) Fiore. What struck her a little odd was the way her parents and their entire team were acting. She knew she wasn't the only one who noticed, but probably the only one who thought any of it later.

She followed Obi's scent deep into the woods, just like she'd done those two times before. This time, however, she came to find their meeting spot empty.

 _We never really talked about time_ , she thought. _Maybe he's not here all day to wait for me._

Her sensitive ears picked up the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps from behind her, they sounded like they were made by a four legged creature. She turned around and waited for the animal to appear. She stood there for a good minute before a wild boar jumped out of the bush directly in front of her. Needless to say, it scared the living daylight out of her. Since when did she let her guard down like this?

Sakura dodged the speedy animal, but ended up falling backwards. Seconds later a pair of human legs entered her vision. She lifted her gaze to see Obi's face, left hand extended towards her, yellow eyes sparkling in amusement.

She accepted his hand, pouting slightly, feeling embarrassed at her lack of reaction time.

 _He probably thinks you're a lousy mage now_ , she scolded herself silently. _Since when do you care what he thinks?_

'Sorry about that,' he said as he helped her up.

'It wasn't your fault,' she said quietly as she dusted off her shorts.

'Not directly, but still, that was my dinner that almost ran you over,' he sighed. 'Well, not anymore.'

'I see,' she nodded, then took a package from her bag. 'It's a good thing that I thought about bringing this, then.'

She unfolded the package, which contained a plate of leftovers from lunch. There was more than enough food served at the party, so she could safely sneak some out for Obi. She had some for herself, for her hunger disappeared the more she studied her parents' uneasiness. She was planning on eating it on her way here, but she was so lost in thought that she completely forgot about it, but it was okay. She still wasn't hungry.

'Thanks,' he said with wonder as she held up his hands and placed the plate in them.

'Remember, it's not poisonous,' she said, smiling slightly at his expression. 'How's your wound?'

'Uh, it's better,' he said unsure as he awoke from his stupor. 'Still a little sore, though.'

'That's to be expected. As far as I've seen, you're not very careful even with an injury as bad as this one,' she said slightly scolding him, pointing to his chest, where a (hopefully) healing wound was hidden beneath his shirt.

'I've never been able to sit still,' he said after a short silence. It was clear to Sakura that this wasn't what he wanted to say first, judging by the way his lips twitched when she finished her sentence.

 _Constant vigilance_ , Sakura reminded herself.

'I'll take a look at it now, and then leave you to eat in peace, 'kay?'

He answered by taking off his black shirt, and she began to work. She was actually relieved that the wound was (slowly but surely) healing.

'Aaand it's done,' she exclaimed as she stood up and put her arms on her hips. She was aware that she looked like she's just beaten up an entire army of enemies, with her determined glare and confident smirk. However, she thought that saving a life was just as interesting, and especially more impressing.

She saw him looking at her, clearly amused by her actions. 'What are you looking at?'

Obi only sent a smirk in her direction before he also stood up and promptly jumped up three branches high. Sakura blinked once, then twice, and he was gone.

* * *

'Jutsu Shiki?'

'Sounds likely, but I doubt they'd have an expert with them on every scene.'

'Then I suppose that's scrapped.'

Jinora was worrying her lower lip between her teeth. She agreed to help the Fernandes twins come up with some kind of plan, with the catch that none of them really knew how it was actually supposed to go. The library gave her a sense of tranquility as always, but also served as a source to aid their work. She isolated herself down here for a reason, but somehow she still got caught up in things like these. She decided it was because she was a member of Fairy Tail, and her guild mates weren't really aware of what personal space meant.

'They haven't been around that long,' muttered Castiel. 'It's impossible for them to grow this strong over a few years.'

'Especially for Mystic Mustang,' joined in Jinora. 'The guild was founded by two orphaned children five years ago, and only one of them was able to do a little fire magic.'

'Something isn't right here,' Castiel continued muttering.

'Duh!' Karma rolled his eyes. 'That's why we're here. That's why we're doing this.'

'That's why you dragged me along, you mean?'

'You followed me here getting all "I want to do something!" on me.'

'The more the merrier,' spoke up Jinora, feeling a slowly growing headache because of their constant arguing.

'Never thought I'd hear you say that, Princess,' commented Karma as his mischievous eyes turned to her. Even though they were close friends, and even though he used that nickname ever since she dressed up as a princess on her seventh birthday to imitate the protagonist of her favorite fairytale, she was sure her cheeks turned a light shade of pink whenever he called her that. She hated it, because it ruined her image of being uncaring. Which she was, mind you, just to a certain degree. His smirk told her he knew, but she didn't want _other_ people to know.

'I see you don't know how sarcasm works,' she fired back, but his smirk only grew, charging her guilty. 'I meant three heads are better than two.'

'I don't think that's how it goes.'

'Can we just focus on the plan?' asked Castiel as he found himself in the bantering two's meaningless crossfire.

'Why do you ask? Do you have an idea?' asked back Karma with a clear edge to his tone.

'We're all frustrated,' said Castiel quietly, trying to channel his inner calm to his brother.

'This is so strange,' said Jinora before she let out a breathy chuckle. 'Why are we even frustrated? You say it's a problem that needs to be solved, but is there even a problem?'

'Can't you feel the foreboding feeling in the air, Princess?' questioned Karma. 'The tension is getting thicker.'

That was the point where Castiel decided he needed fresh air or at least some kind of distraction as he stepped out of the room, massaging his temples, cursing his brother for making sure everyone was uncomfortable. He closed the door behind him and turned around.

His hazel orbs met a familiar pair of blue ones, and his heart skipped a beat.

* * *

 **The quote is from Derek Landy.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note: Hi there!**

 **Okay, so I did some editing and lost the original update or whatever, but yeah.**

 **This is here, and _I don't own Fairy Tail_.  
**

* * *

 _ **It's Time**_

 **"It's time to begin, isn't it?"**

 **xXxXx**

The barmaids of Fairy Tail worked at the bar because they wanted to. All of them were mages who practiced their own branch of magic, but they didn't have as much time to go on jobs, because they insisted on helping out. As time passed and the number of guild members increased, these barmaids became mothers and raised their own daughters to work with them, who were more than glad to help.

Except Nova Dreyar, that is.

Nova had no problem with washing dishes, taking orders, serving drinks or meals. No, she had a problem with people in general.

She was no kind soul (sort of like Elise), everybody knew that. But she still helped out at the bar, so they hoped she was secretly nice, but was just good at hiding it. She felt something towards her guild, that was sure. She grew up surrounded by these strange people she called her family, nothing could change that. It was simple as that. It was pure fact.

What really annoyed her was when someone tried to change that. When someone tried to be more. When someone felt something more towards her. At first she welcomed them with open arms, feeling bold for feeling something more as well. Her heart would jump out of her chest in joy, but it would break right after. It always landed in the hands that weren't gentle enough, and they always shattered it to pieces.

It took her a few leaps to realize she was an idiot. Those hands never wanted her heart in the first place. They wanted her father's acknowledgement. They wanted to show her off.

She chained her heart in place and built some bars around it, so it wouldn't even think about springing away.

No one said life was easy, however.

She'd became quick friends with Castiel Fernandes when she'd found him disturbingly drunk in the pantry after the twins' eighteenth birthday party. She'd let him talk about his inferiority complex with his brother out of pity, but she'd actually got interested when he'd started sharing embarrassing secrets, then she'd practically had no choice but to let him cry on her shoulder because his grip had been too strong and she'd had nothing better to do.

It didn't take her long to notice the glances he would send in her way every once in a while after that incident, and she knew perfectly well what was going on with him. She admitted that he was cute, but that was it. She'd told him not to waste his time on her, and he'd seemed to accept her rejection.

Except he kept looking at her.

It had been irritating and she'd wanted to give him a black eye so he wouldn't be able to stare, but she'd also found it endearing. After that she couldn't stop her growing feelings for the boy, even if she'd tried to.

And she had tried really hard.

She hadn't been planning on acting on them, of course. She's wanted to wait until he'd cooled down, and everything would be back to normal. But the little shit wouldn't stop staring, he'd kept coming closer, kept initiating small talks, and it had became clear that he didn't have the same intention as the others had.

He genuinely cared about her. This had never happened before, so it was understandable that she was terrified. Not to mention he was too good for her, for someone who came mucker so many times that she learned to manipulate others and pretend some things never happened, even if they obviously did.

When her mother asked her to bring some snacks to the library where the twins were hanging out with Jinora, she wanted to flip every single table in the immediate vicinity and just stomp home defeated.

But since she was the obedient daughter of the guild master, she did as she was told. Even though she knew it was coming, the shock that raced through her body when her eyes met Castiel's caught her off guard. She stiffened as she passed him and stepped into the library, she placed the tray of food and beverages on the table painfully slowly, then walked back up the stairs just as leisurely, all without uttering a word.

As the door closed behind her, Jinora raised an eyebrow at her odd behavior and turned to see Karma staring after the girl. 'Is something wrong?'

'No,' answered Karma before shifting his gaze at the large bookcase in front of him. 'Not yet, at least.'

Outside the door Nova took a sharp right and walked into a secluded corner, stubbornly staring ahead, while Castiel followed her. It was their secret little routine, one that they both wished to change, but couldn't. It was established that they wouldn't have a normal relationship, so they sometimes ended up just enjoying each other's company.

No words were expressed as he pinned her against the wall and pressed his lips against hers. Soon hands were in places where they shouldn't have been, lips were leaving trails of forbidden kisses, and the pair hoped that certain people's enhanced senses would be dulled enough by the guild's constant buzzing.

* * *

Jinora exited the library with Karma at his side and an empty tray in her hands. They reached literally no progress, but they weren't disappointed, for they weren't hoping for any. When they reached the bar she handed the tray back surprised.

'What is it?' asked Karma after he ordered a box of strawberry milk.

'Usually the others would be swarming around me, saying things like how glad they are that I left my hole,' she responded as she sat on a stool, grimacing.

Karma huffed out a laugh as she accepted his drink from a smiling Bellamy. 'Understandable. They don't see you that often.'

Jinora shrugged as she saw Karma's attention shift to Laxus, who stood at the other end of the bar, talking with Gajeel. Now that was a strange sight, since everyone knew those two weren't buddies. Karma's eyes narrowed as he walked over to them, his brain already working through the situation.

Jinora ordered a chocolate milkshake while she subtly stared at them as they talked. She noticed when Karma's fingers suddenly squeezed around the plastic box in his hand, but they immediately relaxed right after. After five minutes Karma flopped down next to her, taking a long sip from his drink.

'How did it go?'

He opened his mouth to say something, but his head snapped up and he half-heartedly glared at his brother's approaching form. Castiel sat down next to him and ordered a strawberry cheesecake, ignoring the look Karma gave him. Jinora took in the Equip mage's disheveled appearance and decided to stay clear of this subject.

'I told him about the plan, but he said he's got this,' said Karma, answering Jinora's previous question. He took another long sip from his milk before slamming it on the counter. 'What the frick? I worked my ass off and he's just like "I've got this",' he said as he deepened his voice to imitate the guild master.

'In hindsight, he never asked for your help,' said Castiel before he raised a forkful of cake to his mouth. 'You just thought you were so important-'

'Shut your cakehole!' snapped Karma as he took another long sip of his strawberry milk. Jinora realized that he was actually sulking, and between his angry sips and pouting, it was hard not to laugh out loud.

'He's right,' she said, waving off Karma's protests. 'The master never asked us for a plan, and it's not like we came up with one either.'

* * *

According to Thalia Fullbuster, genius was a word people often used wrong.

There were the extroverted practical geniuses, who were great at sports and/or magic, or they understood the feelings of a machine almost as well as their friend's. There were the introverted geniuses, who excelled at theory, but didn't understand people, because they worked completely different than how it was written in books.

Then there was the rare species, the "evil mastermind" genius named Karma, who was incredible at both.

Thalia was a genius. She perfected Water magic and Ice Molding magic. She was a practical genius.

But she didn't understand people.

The day when her father's team had to leave for a very important S-Class mission she noticed their discomfort and fake smiles, but she wasn't the only one. The entire guild crowded around the four adults, sending them off with equally fake grins and wishes of good luck.

She didn't understand why none of them said anything.

None of them mentioned that something felt off. None of them mentioned that Natsu's grin didn't reach his eyes, or that Lucy's smile was too tight, or that Erza hugged her sons and husband as if she would never see them again, or that her father's face was set in a visible scowl, or that Happy was not going with them.

It was probably because of the way Laxus stared down at them from the top of the stairs, discouraging anyone who might have tried to ask.

Thalia supposed she was lucky that she wasn't just anyone.

'This is wrong,' she said quietly after her mother released her father from her embrace.

'You've got that right,' answered Gray just as quietly.

'Then why?' she asked, and her suspicions were confirmed when Gray's gaze flickered towards the guild master.

'I guess this isn't just a "very important" mission?' asked Storm and Gray scoffed.

'It's more than important,' he confirmed, watching as his children shared a look.

'Everything will work out fine,' whispered Juvia, as if to convince herself and not just her family. 'Juvia is sure.'

Thalia felt a stare on her back, and as she looked over her shoulder her gaze met Sakura's. She probably heard every word, but Thalia didn't mind. It clearly wasn't a secret.

Her eyes drifted over the crowd and stopped at Cana, who was discreetly approaching the Fernandes family. She said something to Erza and gave her the deck of cards she was holding. Erza shuffled them while being engaged in a conversation with someone else, occasionally glancing at Cana when she spoke up. The scarlet-haired woman drew one card, then another one-

'Come on, Ronan! Train with me!'

Thalia's attention snapped towards the two kids next to her. Rosemary was dragging Ronan by the arm to the backyard with Malcon flying around the two.

'She liiiiiikes you!' snickered the exceed as Ronan's head became a tomato.

'I want to become an S-Class mage before I get old!' whined Rosemary as he continued pulling him.

'B-But we're here to say goodbye to-'

'What's the big deal? We'll see them again anyway!'

Ronan let out a sigh and followed the excited girl outside. Thalia looked back at Erza, only to find that Cana has disappeared.

She really didn't understand people.

* * *

Saying that Sakura Dragneel was angry would be an understatement. She was absolutely furious.

Something was very wrong about the job her parents went off to complete that morning. She felt it, knew it, she even asked about it. She went straight to the guild master, but Laxus wouldn't tell her anything, other than "This is a very important mission!", which she already knew wasn't exactly true.

So she decided to head off to that forest again to vent out her frustration. Little did she know that she was actually walking towards _his_ spot. Her rage blinded her completely, her legs taking her wherever they wanted to.

Apparently, they wanted to take her to _him_.

She stopped when she spotted a tree big enough so it wouldn't snap into two if she punched it, and then she tested it. And she did it again, and again, and again, and again, and-

'You're probably aware of this, but that will hurt a lot by tomorrow.'

Sakura froze in her spot, recognizing the voice. She turned around to glare directly at Obi, and he lifted his arms as if saying "I'm innocent, don't hurt me".

She tightened her fists, gritting her teeth as she let out a hiss. 'Actually, it already hurts.'

'Well, you're a better doctor than me.'

'You don't need to be a doctor to figure that out!' Sakura raised her fist again, wincing in pain.

'You're bleeding,' said Obi, staring at her bloody knuckles. 'You should get that checked.'

'I realized that much, Mr. Catface!' she shouted at him, only for him to jump away, his face in a grimace.

'Jeez, Mr. Catface? You made that up on your own?' She made a swing for him, but he dodged it swiftly.

'Shut up,' she mumbled angrily before she sat on the ground at the base of the tree she tried to hurt earlier. Obi sat on an old log, which was a safe 15 feet from the fuming pinkette, not saying anything. Sakura didn't mind, she came here to enjoy the peace and quiet after all.

'Family troubles?'

She jumped as his voice suddenly broke the comfortable silence. She turned her head and narrowed her eyes. She was not in the mood to listen to his mocking words.

'None of your business.'

'Alright, that's fair.'

Sakura closed her eyes and let herself calm down. She expected Obi to start speaking again, or leave her alone, but he didn't. She listened as he slowly inhaled and exhaled, and she felt her own breathing starting to match his as her anger dissipated. She was still incredibly frustrated, but at the moment she just needed to accept that there was nothing she could do about it.

'What happened to your family?' she whispered, not looking at him, but knowing he heard her by the way his breath hitched.

'What's it to you?' The tone he spoke in was harsh, but she knew he didn't mean to hurt her. It was such a personal and delicate question, and they were basically strangers, she knew he wasn't going to answer it right away. However, she wouldn't have asked if it weren't for his comment about her guild the day before yesterday.

'You said family is overrated,' she explained, 'then it must have something to do with experience.'

'Can't a guy just have an opinion?'

'As strong as this one? Not without a reason.'

'Listen, I came here to see if you were okay, maybe make you feel better, seeing as how hard you were abusing that tree. You saved my life so I figured I have to pay it back somehow, and I tried, so now we're even.' His voice was loud and cold, and Sakura heard his feet hitting the ground with an angry thud before he stomped away.

Her head snapped up, but she couldn't see him anymore. Guilt clawed at her insides, and she was determined to fix this. She didn't know if "this" meant Obi's feelings or her nonexistent relationship with the man. She didn't even understand why she felt this bad. She still wasn't sure if he was a wanted criminal or just a runaway child.

 _I'm the queen of messing things up, aren't I?_

* * *

Gale Redfox considered himself a righteous guy. He knew when to be stern and when to beat the crap out of someone. He knew when to beam at people and when to hide a small smile. He thought he turned out like this because he was raised by such people in the guild.

It turned out he'd been wrong.

He admitted that his guild mates weren't exactly considerate and they knew no boundaries, but they were always on the good side, and even if they interfered with political business, it was for the right reasons. People rarely questioned their actions anymore.

But when he saw how people gathered around Natsu and his team, he was downright disappointed. Of course he knew about this strange mission, his father had left two days ago for the same job, but no one had went up to _him_ to at least say a quick "Bye!" and "Take care!".

He supposed that if a group of people disappeared then that would be more noticeable, and Gajeel didn't really have much of a presence in the guild anyway, but he was still part of it. He knew that they would realize he wasn't home after a few days, and he knew they would start worrying about him, so why did he always have to be the one in the shadows? He certainly deserved better.

'A jewel for your thoughts.'

Gale almost jumped out of his skin when he turned his head and saw that Thalia was sitting right next to him, looking at him expectedly. A shiver ran down his spine as he stared into her onyx eyes.

 _It's as if she's staring right into my soul with those creepy, beautiful eyes of hers._

'It's just doesn't feel fair,' he spoke up finally. 'My dad accepted the same job two days ago.'

'That's suspicious,' muttered Thalia.

'That's not really what I meant.'

'Oh?'

'I think he should get more recognition,' stated Gale, averting his eyes to look at his hands.

'Oh.'

'This conversation sounds deep,' commented Elise as she sat next to Thalia with crossed arms. 'Can I join? Listening to Gale's whining is like music to my ears.'

'And you're presence is a killjoy,' groaned Gale.

'Look who's talking,' retorted Elise, rolling her eyes. 'I know you just want some alone time with your girlfriend, but your kitty is looking for you.'

Gale immediately straightened his posture, worry evident on his features. He even forgot to deny his relationship with the black-haired girl next to him. 'Did something happen to Barry?'

'No,' drawled the Wind mage. 'He's just looking for you.'

The Dragon Slayer smiled in relief and rose from his seat to find his partner. The small exceed was fidgety when he asked Gale to follow him, and Gale was extremely confused when Barry led him to the Dragneel's home, where Beatrice was hovering around outside, looking just as anxious. When she caught a glimpse of the two she flew to her brother with a glare.

'I told you to bring help!' she snapped at Barry, who flinched at her hard tone.

'Gale can help!' he answered back determined.

Beatrice exhaled shakily as her gaze traveled to the young man standing next to them. She knew that her brother trusted Gale with his life, but in this case he couldn't do anything.

'I'm sorry, but he can't lend us the kind of help that we need,' she said quietly. 'When I said help, I meant someone like Sakura or Wendy-'

'Isn't Sakura home?' asked Gale, and the exceeds sent him a glance.

'No, I came to visit her, but she's not home. I thought that she must be at the guild.'

'She's not there,' said Gale as he shook his head. 'Wait, you said her or Wendy?' His eyes widened in panic. 'What happened?'

Barry's ears drooped as he looked into Gale's eyes, but stayed silent. Gale then turned to Beatrice for explanation, but she only said two words before Gale started sprinting back into the guild.

' _Luna fainted_.'

* * *

Later that day Sakura went back into the forest to apologize to Obi. Besides, she still had to tend to his injuries, even though he made it clear that they had no business with each other anymore. She wasn't expecting him to be there, honestly. But hope dies last, they say.

And it did die, because the spot where he was usually hanging around was empty.

Sakura slumped down in disappointment. She rested her back against a tree, and wondered if she should go after his scent. _Maybe_ he didn't want to see her again, so _maybe_ it wouldn't be a good idea.

Now that she was alone, she slowly started to drown in the sounds of the forest. She blocked out the sounds of busy streets, and kept herself from eavesdropping on her guild mates when she was in the guild. It was something she always did. Her father told her it was to keep herself focused, something all the dragon slayers did in order to prevent themselves from overhearing things they shouldn't, and shifting their attention to other things when they shouldn't.

But this was different. She was alone, with no task at hand, and she just couldn't _not_ hear it. It was kind of overwhelming actually, to hear every song the birds were singing, and every single footstep of the animals wandering around, almost as if they were right next to her.

That's why she found it ridiculous that she couldn't hear _him_ coming. Ironically, her hearing distracted her.

In her defense, he didn't only have eyes that looked like a cat's, but he also moved like one. That included silent footsteps, swift movements and an incredible talent for climbing trees.

So it wasn't all that surprising to say she was startled by his sudden appearance.

'Hey,' he said upon arriving, which started an awkward silence.

Sakura couldn't hear the forest anymore, there was only ringing in her ears as she could hear the blood pumping through her system. She had no idea what to say, and the silence made her even more uncomfortable.

'I'm sorry.'

Sakura lifted her wide eyes to see him staring at a point somewhere next to her head, strategically avoiding her gaze.

 _Why did_ _ **he**_ _apologize?_

She was the one who asked something she clearly shouldn't have. He was obviously not okay with sharing things like that with strangers. And she understood that, because no one was, to be honest.

'No,' she leaned away from the tree to face him, 'I'm sorry. I had a rough day and I was being insensitive. I shouldn't have asked things like that.'

And so the awkward silence came back. But it didn't linger for long this time.

'I don't want to talk about it,' Obi said, breaking the ice. 'I'm not ready to talk about it. I don't think I ever will.'

'That's alright,' Sakura answered softly. 'Everyone has things like that. But sometimes, it's better to just let it out. I-I'm not saying you should do it right now, and I'm especially not telling you to share your entire life story with a stranger,' she said, kind of panicking by the end.

'Wasn't planning on it,' he said, smirking like a cocky bastard.

'Good for you then, I suppose,' she huffed, crossing her arms.

They glared at each other for a second before they burst out laughing. It was strange. They were able to laugh together as if they had known each other for ages. It felt right, but it was wrong.

Sakura was determined to get to know him after that. Even if he _was_ a wanted criminal, she knew he had a good heart. After all, _he_ apologized because of _her_ slip up.

By the time the sky got tucked away in a midnight blue blanket, Sakura and Obi were lying next to each other, looking at the stars from beneath a tree. She was sharing her astronomical knowledge with him, and he listened eagerly. She wasn't a Celestial Spirit mage, but that didn't mean she wasn't interested. She loved the spirits and the stars just as much as her mother. Maybe even as much as her sister.

'And that is the Gemini constellation,' Sakura said while pointing up. 'In astronomy, it is represented by The Twins Castor and Pollux, and it's the third sign of the zodiac. If you're a Celestial wizard, though, then the twins are two small, mischievous blue creatures called Gemi and Mini.'

'Are you one?' asked Obi.

'No, I'm not,' she chuckled. 'My mother and sister both are. It's a very rare kind of magic, and requires the person to be reliable and trustworthy. "A Celestial Spirit mage never breaks their promises" is what my mother always says.'

'And what's your magic?'

'I'm a-' she tried to finish, but she couldn't stop the yawn escaping her lips. 'I'm a Fire mage, like my dad and my brother. A Fire Dragon Slayer, to be precise.'

'Wow,' he breathed out as his eyes widened. 'A Dragon Slayer? How does that work? There aren't any dragons left though, right?'

'No, there's none. But you don't need a dragon to be a Dragon Slayer, you can get the power through lacrimas. My father was taught by a dragon, however. His name was Igneel, and he raised my dad until one day he disappeared. Dad said he found him again, but Igneel passed away soon after. I never met him,' she said as she looked at him. 'You don't believe me.'

'Honestly, I'm not sure,' he decided. 'I don't think you're lying, but I don't know about a dragon being alive in the last 50 years.'

'Oh, no, it was 400 years ago.'

'Eh?' he gaped at her and she burst out laughing.

'Oops, I forgot to mention that,' she laughed harder at the face he made. 'It's a very long story that I don't really know the details of.'

'I can't even imagine…'

'There are more than one Dragon Slayer like that in our guild, even though it's apparently a rare form of magic.'

'It must be amazing,' he concluded. 'Magic that can slay a dragon.'

'My dad said that none of them ever slayed a dragon before.'

'Well, they are extinct, so it'd be kind of hard to do so.'

Sakura let out a yawn again. She closed her eyes and moved around to get into a more comfortable position. She didn't want to fall asleep in the woods, but she just felt _so_ tired, and while her body was already asleep, her mind was still reeling. She found it the most peculiar thing that she was having a completely normal conversation the man whose life she was barely able to save a few days ago. If she hadn't come to the forest that day as Luna had suggested, Obi would be dead, and Sakura would still be curled up in her room, and not on the last stages of grief.

Obi meanwhile wasn't thinking about complicated things like "What if"s and "How"s. He lifted his gaze at the sky, wondering about all the things Sakura said about the lights that come out at night. He chuckled as he heard her starting to snore gracefully (like a bear). He closed his eyes, too tired to be bothered by the sound, but also wondering how many sleep-deprived animals are going to chase them tomorrow morning, for her snoring was probably loud enough to wake the entire forest.

* * *

 **And for the record, I'm not counting Acnologia as an actual dragon here. I guess he was part dragon, but still just a Dragon Slayer.  
**

 **Quote is from the song It's Time by Imagine Dragons**


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note: Hey, it's been a while! Sorry for disappearing, but I'm a junior this year, and I so wasn't ready for it.  
**

 **I wanted to make this chapter longer because you had to wait longer, but it just felt right to finish it there.**

 **Fairy Tail anime is coming back soon, like next year or something. Fortunately _I don't own it_ , because if I did, it would basically never come out, let's be honest. The art of procrastination is something I take very seriously.  
**

* * *

 _ **The Fool**_

 **"I am very interested and fascinated how everyone loves each other, but no one really likes each other."**

 **xXxXx**

The Fairy Tail guild was full of interesting and fun people, who were admitted to be also slightly disturbing. But this guild was a judgement free zone, everyone was chummy with each other and love was in the air and all that crap, so weird behaviors weren't considered weird and unsettling conversations were even more unsettling than they should've been.

Fun times, if Storm had to say so himself.

He had seventeen years to study these people and he had absolutely nothing. They were what they were, whatever that was. And he was part of that, which he undeniably loved.

He had seventeen years to watch and study and stare, so he came to know his guild members pretty well. They didn't know him that much, just that he was grumpy and asocial, and that was honestly more than he could say about himself. Of course, he had a close circle of friends who could say more (at least he hoped).

So, to say that him staring at Luna Dragneel was _creepy_ would be completely out of the norm.

Because, _excuse you_ , he was not a creep.

Watching people from afar was one of his favorite hobbies, and Luna was one of his favorite subjects. Her face was expressive, she literally wore her heart on her sleeve, and she was timidly articulate with her hands. Because if she was determined not to let other people know how she felt, she put on a poker face, but she got really fidgety with her hands. They expressed everything she wanted to hide, but only a very few people realized that.

 _(She would start squeezing her left wrist with her right hand when she was scared. She would bite her nails when she was puzzled. She would drum on the tabletops or her thighs when she was happy. She would crack her knuckles when she was anxious. She would press her index fingers together when she was nervous. She would pull her fingers when she was excited.)_

Storm felt honored to be one of those few, even if his methods of finding out were unusual to some.

He couldn't exactly remember how it happened, but he was sitting at an empty table in the guild, staring, then at some point she approached him and started a conversation, and his brain must have gone into autopilot, because an hour later he found himself at her house, helping her with her Air magic training.

Seriously, what the hell happened while he was ogling?

 _Wow_ , no, wait, that's not–

'What do you think?'

'Um, er, guh,' came his intelligent answer. He was still blinking himself awake from his daze, and the way she was looking at him wasn't helping.

 _Get out with those huge brown puppy eyes! I'm trying to remember how to breathe here!_

'Are you alright?' asked Luna, looking very concerned at his answer – or rather at the lack of it.

'Yes,' he choked out as he coughed into his hand. 'Positive.'

'Do you need some water?'

'No, thanks, just,' he sighed, 'I spaced out. Sorry, what were we talking about?'

'Oh, I was just asking you about something I'm working on. It's okay,' she smiled sheepishly. 'I know my company isn't that entertaining, but–'

Storm's eyes widened before he abruptly cut her off. 'No, no, no! It's not like that! There's just a lot on my mind, that's all.'

'Is something bothering you?'

 _Yes, your incredibly adorable concerned expression._

'No, I'm fine, really,' he said, waving her off quickly. 'What are you working on?'

'I was just trying to stay in the air longer during a backflip. I thought that I could maybe go higher…' she trailed off, picking on the skin around her nails.

 _She's thinking deeply about something_ , his mind immediately explained as he felt his cheeks grow warm with embarrassment. He _was_ staring at her a lot lately, wasn't he?

'What about your spirits?' asked Storm, wincing at the way she flinched at his voice. He probably yanked her out of her thoughts. 'Have you ever tried to do a Unison Raid?'

'Once, yes,' she said as her lips twitched into a nervous smile, then it was gone and she didn't say anything else.

Storm wanted to ask if it went well, but judging by her expression it probably didn't.

Sensing her discomfort he was quick to change the subject, and they spent the afternoon pleasantly talking and training. He offered some advice and they talked over the spells she wanted to learn in the future.

However, at some point, Storm realized something was wrong. In retrospect, he should've noticed it much earlier.

He thought that her hunched eyebrows and the sweat slowly trickling down her temple were just signs, showing that she was working harder than usual. He only stepped in when he saw her sway to one side, almost tripping over her own feet.

He helped her walk inside the house, sat her down in the kitchen and basically ordered her to drink a whole bottle of water. She seemed to be doing better after that, even if she seemed frighteningly pale. She said she was going to lay down and promptly told him to go home when he insisted on staying to look after her for a while.

He eventually left, but he learned later that he really should have just pretended to be deaf and stayed.

* * *

After Carla started to return Happy's affections, they agreed to move into a little house on their own in the small exceed village outside of Magnolia. The idea came after a little kitten named Beatrice joined their guild.

Sometime later Beatrice moved back to her parents, and accompanied Happy and Carla on their way to the guild every day. Eventually her curious little brother ended up following them, becoming a member that day, after a nice boy shared his cookies with him and agreed to become his partner years later.

Somewhere down the road even Lily moved here. When he was asked about it, he only grimaced and avoided the conversation. Some sources (Levy) later revealed that he had enough of the youngest Redfox tugging his tail and ears all the time. _"The little girl is too freaking strong for her age"_ , he apparently said.

Just because they didn't live together, the exceeds spent just as much time with their dear friends as possible. So when Happy was told he couldn't go with Natsu on their latest job, he was understandably hurt. Ever since he hatched from his egg, he and Natsu were inseparable.

He was just as confused as the others were about the case, but not angry. He trusted Laxus, even if it meant he had to let Natsu go without him. He tried to act less upset than he felt, but it didn't really work, so he just stayed home for a few days after their team's departure.

Meanwhile Beatrice, the good friend she was, decided to snoop around a little. She noticed Sakura's mood shift whenever the secret mission was mentioned, and wanting to make her feel better, she grabbed Barry and bombarded Happy with questions. Now this would've seemed suspicious to anyone else, but Happy was, well, _Happy_ , and an upset one at that, so he just answered truthfully, leaving the grey feline with no better understanding of the situation than before.

That's why the two siblings visited her partner's home afterwards, to tell her everything the blue exceed said, hoping that maybe Sakura would be able to find some answers between the lines, she was a smart girl.

She wasn't expecting her brother's panic attack upon seeing an unconscious Luna in the hallway.

* * *

Luna, for the life of all that's good, couldn't remember how she ended up here.

 _Here_ meaning in a gigantic, dark room, sitting on one fancy (but comfortable as heck) couch, her gaze slowly shifting around, trying to take in her surroundings, even though the sensitive lighting made it impossibly difficult.

 _Candles are really inconvenient_ , she thought as she made her way to the multiple windows on the opposite wall. She tried to move the curtains, but they wouldn't budge.

She walked back to the couch with a displeased frown, looking for some kind of exit. Her vision suddenly darkened as the candles burned out. She instinctively reached for her pouch, only to suffer something close to a heart attack.

Her keys weren't there.

That can't happen, it's not possible. She always had her keys with her, _always_.

'Do not worry, they're safe,' whispered a soft voice. Luna sucked in a breath as her posture went rigid. She was completely alone just a second ago.

The room lit up, brighter than before. The candles on the walls were no longer candles, but big torches, and their numbers seemed to have increased as well. Luna whipped her head around to find a middle-aged woman smiling at her.

She was admittedly beautiful with her porcelain skin and charcoal eyes. Her long pale blue hair was falling on her shoulders in delicate waves, and she was wearing a peach colored dress, which reminded Luna of confident queens and determined princesses from Jinora's favorite fairytales.

However, the more Luna stared at her graceful form, the more fake her smile became.

Actually, all of her just screamed _fake_.

Not that kind of fake when you dye your hair and your best friend starts obsessing over unnatural hair colors, but the wrong kind of fake, like that feeling when you go for a walk at night, seeking comfort from the sound of leaves whirling around in the wind, but the sound comes out unnatural, and you can't really point out what's wrong, until a monster jumps you from behind a bush.

Luna felt vulnerable and naked under the woman's stare, because whoever she was she knew _something that she shouldn't,_ and it didn't sit well with Luna.

'Wh-Who are you?' she asked, knowing she sounded like a scared rabbit and looked like a deer caught in the headlights.

'I'm Calico,' the woman answered, her voice distant and not quite her own, sending chills down the young mage's spine.

'I'm–' Luna gulped, wringing her hands as if it would stop them from shaking. 'My name is Luna.'

Calico's smile flashed to a smirk, before it changed back into a thin smile. 'It's a pleasure to meet you.'

'L-Likewise.'

Luna felt her sanity starting to leave her as Calico continued smiling (more like pulling her lips) at her. She wanted to go home, she wanted to apologize to Storm for being impolite, and she wanted to make sure her spirits were safe and sound and her keys were in one piece.

'Whe– Uh, um… Where are we?' she asked, gathering every bit if courage she had left.

Calico's smile disappeared. 'In a place I used to call my home at some point.'

'It's, uh, really nice. The couch is very big and, er, green. Comfortable too,' stuttered Luna, sending the fake-ish woman a small smile. When she sat down, it froze on her face.

The couch definitely wasn't as comfortable as before. She could feel her legs itching, her back started to hurt, and her dress got stuck in the cushions. She quickly jumped up and faced Calico again, who was almost glaring at her with an out of place deadpan expression.

'What are you planning on doing with the Gate of the Cat?'

Luna froze.

'What do you mean?'

'Are you going to throw it away?' asked Calico bitterly.

'I would never!' snapped Luna, her eyes widening as she realized her mistake.

The _confident queen_ gave her a strange look. Not that it was strange, for she saw it on her parents' faces sometimes, but it was the strangest thing coming from her.

She looked proud.

And Luna became a _determined princess_.

'I would never throw away a Celestial Spirit's key. Being a Celestial mage is an honor, because we become better friends as we grow strong together. We're never alone and we always have someone to watch our back. It might get hard sometimes, the Gate of the Cat is a great example of that, but the moment we accept a key it's bound to us until the end of our lives. Even if we don't make the contract, or even if we gave them away to a true friend, Celestial mages never abandon their spirits!'

Calico looked unimpressed. She was probably mulling over the pinkette's answer for a few minutes before she spoke up, 'Is that what your mother taught you?'

'No,' replied Luna. 'This is the answer I found on my own.'

The woman's eyes crinkled as her lips curled into a very _real_ and very _warm_ smile. 'You're going to be just fine.'

Calico's voice sounded closer and clearer, gaining a sweet tone that reminded Luna of her mother.

The tension in her shoulders was suddenly gone and the young mage found herself smiling back.

* * *

He didn't have the patience for this.

Seth was taught by his mother how to use Cards magic and do tarot readings, but the latter usually just made him frustrated. He didn't care about the future enough to seek answers about it. Unfortunately, many of his guild mates did, and he had to remind them daily that he did _not_ do readings.

 _"If you want to know if you'll win the lottery next time, ask my mother"_ , he said every time.

But now she was sitting next to him, ignoring every request thrown in her way, asking him to help her with a special reading.

Seth had to groan just by thinking about it.

'This is important!' she insisted, expression as serious as she could make it after a whole day of enjoying the old man's hidden wine collection. 'I asked Erza to draw a card before they left.'

'And?' he asked as he lifted a hand to rub the side of his face.

'10 of Swords,' said Cana as she held up the card with ten swords.

'Ouch.'

'I said it's not specific enough and made her draw another one,' she said before holding up another card. '3 of Swords.'

'Double ouch.'

'Have you asked Carla if she saw anything?'

'She said she didn't. Neither did Malcon.' Which didn't necessarily mean that was true. Unlike Carla, Malcon was just as trustworthy as he was not. This ability to see the future was even less so.

But then again, so were tarot cards.

Seth had to stifle another groan.

'Then let's do this,' slurred Cana as she let out a pointlessly big breath.

They shuffled their cards, then took turns in putting them on the table. They agreed to not use the entire stack, and used their magic to help and guide them with the draws. Seth started.

The Hanged Man. Choices and decisions.

'You think it's telling us to stop?'

'Right away?' asked Cana while her eyebrows disappeared into her hairline. She slammed her first card on the table as her son let out an exasperated sigh.

The Hierophant. This was the right thing.

'See?' she murmured, already fiddling with her next card.

The Magician. Power, and good use of it.

The Moon. Confusion and Uncertainty.

Death. Deep transformation and change.

The Tower. Change and destruction.

'Aw, hell! We're all going to die,' said Cana in an indifferent tone before consuming the remains of the alcohol she was holding close to her chest.

'Or at least _some_ of us, if we won't do anything. After the last stunt he pulled, Percy is a probable contestant,' snickered Seth.

'Don't even say things like that!' snapped Cana at his eldest son, slapping his arm before she slipped another card on the table.

The World.

'I'm starting to really not like this,' groaned Seth. The weight of the world on their shoulders? He was way too lazy for this crap.

'You're starting just now?' asked Cana grumpily, intently watching as Seth drew his last card.

The Fool.

Cana hissed.

'What? This is, like, the nicest one so far,' said Seth confused. 'A new, fresh start-'

'But without any commitments.'

'So?'

'You won't get a girlfriend in the near future.'

'Goddamn it, Mom!'

The Fool, again.

Cana hummed in thought, opening another bottle of the old man's wine, but her gaze stayed fixated on her last card.

The guild doors swung open. If one payed close attention, they could see Gale Redfox running around the guild with a speed that even Jet found himself envying. Some minutes later a blur of dark blue hair followed him out the door, her frantic questions echoing inside the suddenly awfully quiet building.

Cana, much like everybody, stared after them, paused in mid-swing. She hummed again, her voice betraying deep interest, her face showing dry amusement.

Seth _really_ didn't like her reaction, but dutifully ignored it, and with quick reflexes – which he shouldn't possibly possess after drinking as much as he did – grabbed the bottle from Cana's hands. She let out an indignant _oi_ as the boy slumped back in his seat and started leisurely sipping the sweet liquid.

* * *

Sakura woke to rustling sounds and loudly chirping birds.

 _Did I leave my window open last night?_

She opened her eyes only to close them again, the sunlight streaming through the tree leaves unexpectedly blinding her. She stayed still for a few seconds, thinking of going back to sleep, when she suddenly sat up, and looked around.

 _This is_ _ **not**_ _my room,_ she thought as she completely awoke from her slumber, remembering that she came here yesterday to see Obi.

 _I must've fallen asleep._

She stood up and dusted her clothes off, jumping a little when the aforementioned male unexpectedly jumped off the branches above and landed in front of her.

'Good morning,' he greeted her. 'I didn't think you'd be up this early. The sun just came out.'

'Morning,' she grumbled. 'You're up and about already, too. You must be an early riser.'

'I'm more of a nocturnal type, actually,' he smirked. 'But I don't sleep much in general.'

'That's not really healthy.' Her eyes widened as she let out a hiss. 'Neither is the gaping hole in your chest! Where's my bag? I completely forgot about your wound!'

While she was frantically searching the area with her eyes, she noticed Obi kept his stare on her. 'I think I saw some mice drag it away. Was there food in it?'

'I think there was some, yes, but why didn't you stop them?' she growled at him as she took in his oddly calm expression. _He couldn't possibly have–?_

'Those things are fast, you know. And,' he held up a finger as she opened her mouth, knowing a snarky remark was already on the tip of her tongue. 'Stop with the cat thing! I don't hunt mice.'

'But that was my favorite bag!' she whined, pouting. 'I'm bringing new supplies, wait here!'

She trudged back home half-asleep, occasionally sending a pebble flying with a kick. She was sour about losing her bag, it was a birthday present from her dear mentor, Porlyusica. Needless to say she'd been pleasantly baffled that the grumpy old lady had gotten her a gift, let alone remembered her birthday. Their student-teacher relationship had been a strange love-hate relationship, but neither of them minded.

She realized three things when she reached her home.

One, there was a pain in her lower back, which reminded her to never sleep on the forest floor again.

Two, her house seemed to be inhabited by half of – if not the entire – guild.

And three, she was suddenly wide awake, since the first two realizations chased the last bit of drowsiness away.

Multiple pairs of eyes shifted their silent attention to her approaching form. She expected Luna's curious gaze and Ryū's right eyebrow quirked in question, just their obvious and rightful curiosity of what kept her away for the night, not the accusing glares of the people she worked with.

There was clearly something wrong, and she didn't like these people in her house. When she voiced these thoughts, their glares hardened.

With a huff and a roll of her eyes she squeezed past them to find someone who would explain the situation to her. The first person on that list was her best friend, and it didn't took her a long time to find her. Just the look in Thalia's eyes was more expressive than ever, and then Sakura knew she was looking for her, too.

They exited the crowded room and walked to the edge of the woods, wanting to escape the prying eyes, and talk in private.

'What's going on?' asked Sakura as soon as they stopped.

'I'm not sure what happened exactly, but Beatrice and Barry found Luna passed out on the floor inside. Wendy is with her now.'

Sakura felt the blood drain from her face. Instead of getting straight to the point and giving a blunt answer like usually, Thalia was more considerate with her use of words and especially the tone she spoke in. Even though she did that to calm Sakura's concerns, the pinkette became more worried. If the anxiety in Thalia's words was visible enough that her best friend recognized it, then Luna's condition was very bad.

The fluttering of wings snapped Sakura's attention to her exceed companion, who flew straight to her chest. The grey feline was shaking and sobbing quietly as Sakura protectively held her in her arms.

'Shh, it's okay,' she cooed, hardly believing her own words.

'It was so scary,' whispered Beatrice. 'She wasn't moving and I didn't know what to do because Barry was panicking and couldn't breathe normally and I–'

'It's okay,' repeated Sakura. 'Everything's going to be alright. Thank you for getting help. I'm sorry I wasn't there.'

'It's not your fault!' said the exceed as she snapped her head to look into her partner's eyes.

Another voice stopped Sakura from replying. Wendy made her way to them with a small smile, trying to hide her frown, but failing miserably.

Sakura stared at her expectantly.

'It's Magic Deficiency Disease,' she said, her tone guarded. 'Her condition is critical, as if something has been draining her magic for days.'

'How did we not notice it?' muttered Sakura.

'I'm doing everything I possibly can. She will get better, especially if I have anything to say about it.'

Wendy's entire posture screamed of her steeled determination, but it didn't stop Sakura from doubting her. It should have, and she felt bad about it.

They all followed her back to the front door, where she sent every single member away. Sakura knew they were just as concerned as she was, everybody had a soft spot for Luna. How could they not?

Thalia and Sakura stood side by side, Beatrice still nestled in the pinkette's arms, as they watched the people leave. One of the last ones was the hunched form of Storm, who murmured something under his breath. With her heightened senses Sakura was able to catch it, and as the boy's gaze lifted to find hers, she immediately knew it was only for her to hear.

'I should've noticed. I'm sorry.'

She stared after him as his sister joined him on their walk home.

'Are you okay?'

Sakura whipped her head back to see Gale's concerned expression. Barry was asleep in his arms, and she let Beatrice wiggle out of her hold to hover above his face.

'I think you know the answer,' she said quietly. Gale only nodded before he took off with the two exceeds. He was probably taking Barry home.

Sakura wasn't surprised when she caught sight of her little brother stuffing his face in the kitchen. She couldn't resist an eye-roll as she stepped into the room and poked his shoulder.

'Did you make that?' Nod. 'How much did you make? Are there any leftovers for me?' She grimaced as he choked out a muffled _no_. 'Don't speak with your mouth full.'

He gulped down the food. 'Then don't ask questions when I'm eating.'

'Why didn't you make some for me, too?'

He put his fork down with an annoyed frown. 'What did I just say?'

'I'm hungry,' she said as she opened the fridge. 'Did you go shopping or did you just use up everything that was in here like usually?'

'You're hungry?'

'Yes, you dork. I just said that,' she growled, slamming the fridge door closed.

'I didn't hear it, kind of like how you didn't hear me before,' he said as he played with his food, his chin in his hand with his elbow propped on the table. Sakura wanted to hit him.

'You're such a child,' she chastised as she put her hands on her hips.

'Can't hear you,' he drawled.

'Damn it, Ryū! I'm not in the mood for this!' she snapped. She was hungry and tired and worried and _pissed_. 'Luna almost died today!'

The constant noise of his fork scraping against the surface of the plate stopped. Sakura stared angrily at him, not believing that he wasn't feeling the gravity of the situation. He acted like everything was fine, when it clearly wasn't. Their parents were off on some mysterious faux mission and their sister knocked on death's door earlier today. The fact that her favorite bag was lost and that her little brother was being a prick only caused her a lot of unneeded aggravation.

'But she didn't.'

Sakura kept staring as he pulled her out of her thoughts.

'What?'

'She didn't,' he said again. 'She's in her room, alive.'

'That doesn't mean–'

'Where were you last night?'

He finally lifted his gaze to look at her, just as her mouth snapped closed. He cocked his right eyebrow, but Sakura wasn't ready for this talk.

'It doesn't matter,' she muttered before opening the fridge again, standing behind the door to hide her face from his searching eyes.

A few minutes later she heard the chair creak against the floor as he stood up and exited the room. Realizing she lost her appetite, Sakura retreated to her room and lay on her bed, where she immediately fell into a restless slumber.

* * *

 **Quote from the book The Perks of Being a Wallflower written by Stephen Chbosky.**

 **And just so you know, I spent a lot of time researching tarot cards, but I still have no freaking clue how they actually work. I just find the concept very interesting. So let's pretend this is how it works in this universe, pls.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Note: Hello people!**

 **This chapter is somewhat longer and I decided to post it now, since I feel bad about being gone for a while. I'm not gonna lie, it will probably happen again some time, but I think I'm okay for now. I was thinking about monthly updates, but we'll see how it goes.**

 **I know that this got ominous as fuck, but things will start to happen soon, so I would really appreciate some feedback. I said this before, but this is my first story and I'd be glad if you could give me some pointers or even tell me what you like and don't like about the story. The fact that someone reads this already means the world to me, and I really want to know what you guys think.**

 _ **I don't own Fairy Tail**_ **, but I'm really really really excited about the anime coming out next year. I just miss it so much.**

* * *

 _ **I'll tell you a riddle**_

 **"Dreams feel real while we're in them. It's only when we wake up that we realize something was actually strange."**

 **xXxXx**

Restless wind swept through the golden grasslands and whistled by her ear as Luna took a deep breath, desperate to fill her lungs with fresh air. However, instead of feeling relieved, the motion left her throat dry and lungs stinging with pain, and she felt like she was suffocating. The sky was blue and clear, not a cloud in sight, but the sun burned with such intensity she was sure her skin would catch on fire any moment. She glanced around in search for some form of shelter, spinning in dizzying full circles until an enormous tree popped into her peripheral vision. It wasn't there a few spins ago, but it didn't seem important as she scurried over to hide in its shadow. She squeezed her eyes shut as she collapsed against the trunk and tried to take calming breaths, forgetting her earlier predicament.

This time the air was cool and smelled like lavender.

Confused, Luna opened her eyes, which her mouth soon followed. Now she was standing in the middle of a magnificent lavender field, watching in awe as many small colorful butterflies shyly fluttered around her. She couldn't make sense of the jump of scenery, but she didn't care either. She felt content and happy, as if she could stay there for eternity.

'I believe that wouldn't be very fortunate,' spoke a female voice right next to her.

Luna recognized the voice, but didn't know who it belonged to, even when she turned her head to see charcoal eyes and a tight-lipped smile.

'Calico?' she asked slowly, the name foreign on her tongue.

The woman's grimace disappeared as she blew a strand of hair away from her face. The movement was so sudden and so _alive_ that it made goosebumps appear on the younger girl's skin. Calico wore a simple lavender colored dress with her hair in a messy bun, unlike last time, which Luna couldn't recall to exact detail, but still knew that this look suited her better.

'You've dug yourself a pretty deep hole, Luna,' said Calico with a disapproving stare, but the girl had no idea what she'd done to deserve it. 'The more you're here, the more difficult your awakening is going to be.'

'Awakening?' Was she sleeping? And how did she know her name? 'Have we met before?'

'No,' she answered before taking a sip of her cup of tea that Luna only just now noticed, along with the elegant wooden chairs they were sitting on, 'we haven't and we never will.'

'Then what…?' the pinkette trailed off, not sure of what she wanted to ask exactly.

'It's not my place to say anything,' said Calico softly, gracefully placing her cup on the table. _Was that here before?_ 'But why did you think it would be a good idea to let him roam free with your magic power keeping the door open?'

Because of her inheritably incorrigible stubbornness Luna did not answer that question. 'Do you know anything about the Gate of the Cat, then?'

One eyebrow slowly made her way up on Calico's forehead. 'Don't you?'

'Um, well, he's not very talkative,' muttered Luna, carefully avoiding the older woman's gaze.

'But you've surely heard of his tale?'

'What tale?' she asked innocently, then winced at Calico's exaggerated sigh. The woman shoved a cup full of hot tea in her hands before picking up her own.

'The story goes that when the animals chosen to be the Zodiac Spirits were invited to the Celestial Spirit Realm a rat snuck between them to trick the cat – who was supposed to be the twelfth spirit – and took its place. This way the cat was banished from the circle, but since he already entered the Realm he became a Celestial Spirit, cursed to have two forms, neither more useful than the other.'

'That's horrible!' gasped Luna.

'Yeah well, it's also part of the story that the ox is an idiot and the tiger is a coward,' scoffed Calico. 'I beg to differ.'

'This is horrible,' whispered the girl again after tasting the hot beverage she received.

'It's not my fault your subconscious summons up horrible tea,' muttered Calico bitterly before she continued to slurp the drink.

'Huh?' Luna tilted her head in confusion, observing a white butterfly that planted itself on her finger.

'You don't have to believe everything you hear, little mage.' Calico's voice echoed around the clearing as her gaze found Luna's and charcoal burned into chocolate brown. 'Or anything you see, for that matter.'

Her voice was ringing in her ears, making her head throb and her eyes burn, and Luna needed to blink to stop the feeling.

When her eyes opened, she was in a forest. Yellow and brown and red colored leaves were falling around her, and she watched as the wind sometimes lifted them up and placed them down somewhere else, like a small child restlessly throwing around its toys.

Her attention snapped to her hand, where a black bird was comfortably perched on her knuckles, its croaking interrupting her reverie.

Somewhere in the back of her mind she realized that this wasn't quite right. She wasn't cradling a _raven_ in her hands just a moment ago, it was a–

'It's a crow.'

Startled, the bird quickly flew up and away as Luna turned to glare at Calico.

'I know the difference between a crow and a raven.'

'I never said you don't,' said the woman, looking up at the sky. 'But look…'

Luna followed her example and was somewhat shocked to see a flock of smaller black birds, now all of them letting out cawing sounds.

'As I said, your eyes and ears can deceive you,' stated Calico before she started to walk ahead. 'Especially here.'

The younger girl stood frozen in her place, staring after Calico for a few seconds. She had no understanding of the situation whatsoever, but she had a feeling her new acquaintance might have. The moment she decided to follow her and investigate, the woman stopped and looked back at her over her shoulder, fixing her an unimpressed stare, before she continued walking as if nothing happened.

Luna hurried to catch up with her. 'What do you mean "here"?'

'I never said such a thing.'

'Yes, you did,' she huffed.

'Did I?' asked Calico with a skeptic quirk of her eyebrow that made Luna's resolve falter.

'Didn't you?' she muttered in a small voice, suddenly unsure of everything.

Calico sighed.

'Let's just go…'

* * *

Three weeks passed. Three weeks of tending to Obi's wound. Three weeks of Ryū running off on jobs. Two weeks of Luna being in a coma.

The days came and went so fast they became one big blur of usual routines and avoided confrontations, and Sakura was slowly going insane.

Wendy said there was a slim chance her little sister wouldn't wake up right after her magic power was restored, but she found no plausible theory as to why she was still unconscious weeks after. Sakura was worried, _terrified_ that the girl wouldn't open her eyes again, and she was sure her brother felt the same.

After their little "disagreement" Ryū went on a mission, which wouldn't have been a problem, except that Mira was the one who told her, not Ryū. He continued picking requests without uttering a word to her about them, until after a few days he apologized and said he was going on another one the next day anyway. At first Sakura didn't agree with him leaving her alone to care for their – at the time – sick sister, but she soon understood that this was his way of dealing with the situation. Or rather his way of _not_ dealing with the situation.

Either way, Sakura had no right to point this out, unless she wanted to stick a paper on her forehead that had "hypocrite" written all over it.

Because during those two weeks she also tried to spend as little time at home as possible, which meant many impromptu meetings with her friend in the woods.

Well, she liked to think of him as her friend.

During those occasional longer-than-originally-planned visits she learned a few things about him, but that didn't actually mean she _knew_ him. She often wondered what his deal was, how he ended up where she found him, thanks to some weird interference of fate or destiny or whatnot. She often wondered why it had to be her, but she was quick to shoo those thoughts away because she feared that she made them to be more important than they were.

Another problem was that Ryū wasn't one to share his savings. Sakura needed money, but she felt like she was still far from having gathered enough courage to take another job, not after how the last one ended. She knew if she just asked then Ryū would give her some jewels (if he hadn't wasted all of it on food yet), but that would just leave her feeling pathetic.

'Come on, you big baby,' she muttered as she entered the guild, making her way to the request board. 'You've done this many times before,' she continued the pep talk. Was this even a pep talk? She felt more like slapping herself useful.

The board was closer and closer with every step she took, and with it her muscles tensed and her heartrate spiked. _This is it_ , she thought, _I'm gonna have a heart attack and I'm gonna die and my death won't even be worthy of a Fairy Tail mage._

She was about five feet from her destination when she abruptly changed her direction and turned towards the bar instead, willing her nerves to ease. Nova was cleaning the counters when she glanced up and saw Sakura standing there, as stiff as a board. She scoffed and passed her mother with a few words Sakura didn't hear next to her own thundering blood pressure in her ears, while Mira walked over to her with a strained smile that disappeared as soon as she caught her gaze.

(Sakura didn't know if she should be grateful that Nova sent Mira here instead of staying when both knew she wasn't one to give advice, or be annoyed that she was so quick to flee from her company.)

She had hardly ever seen Mira faking a smile, so she quickly became concerned. But then she saw this emotion mirrored in the barmaid's blue orbs and wondered how obviously upset she must look.

'Sakura, is everything alright? Did something happen to Luna?'

'No, no, Mavis no,' said Sakura quickly. 'She's alright. Well, you know, as alright as she can be at the moment. She's not alone, you know I wouldn't leave her alone! I asked Beatrice to look after her while I choose a, uh…' She felt as her pulse leapt off to race her thoughts with no finish line in sight, while her anxiety was blowing in a whistle in the background, as if urging it to go faster and faster and faster–

'I see.' Sakura's head snapped up to the gentle motherly look on Mira's face. 'Have you found one that you like?'

'I, um, haven't really– I haven't– No.'

'That's okay.' _No, it's not._

'Is something bothering _you_?' she asked hastily. Mira's eyes widened a fraction, and Sakura cringed at the rude and sudden change of subject.

The Take-Over mage seemed to consider whether to answer her or not. She eventually inhaled and decided to answer. 'I've found a letter the other day in the post among the requests. I just didn't know why it was sent to the guild and not the person.'

'Did you show it to Master?' asked Sakura as she propped her elbows on the counter.

'No, it's not that important…' she trailed off, then bit her lip and looked up at Sakura. 'I just found it strange, that's all.'

'Who is the letter addressed to?' Sakura wasn't sure she was allowed to know, especially since Mira seemed rather uncomfortable about it, but then the older woman disappeared behind the counter and stood up with said letter in hand.

'Here,' she murmured as she pulled the girl's hand from the table, placed the letter in her palm and closed her fingers around it firmly. 'Go home and open it.'

Sakura's eyes bulged from her head. 'Is it for me?' she whispered.

'Go home and open it,' repeated Mira before she leaned away and sent her a look Sakura couldn't decipher, then went back to work.

Confused, Sakura did as told and locked herself in her room as soon as she got home, she didn't even peek a look at it on her way. She didn't say anything to Beatrice, it was better if the exceed didn't know she was home, so there wasn't a danger of her barging in while she tried to read the letter.

The first thing she saw made her freeze. The white envelope was previously sealed with a golden stamp (until Mira opened it – somebody should tell her to stop snooping around in other people's mail), the gentle curves of the royal emblem of the Fiore Kingdom shining proudly in the bright afternoon sunlight streaming through her window.

She stopped breathing.

Her brain stopped working.

 _ **WHAT?!**_

She tore the envelope open as fast as if her life depended on it. _Maybe it does_ , she thought somberly. Did she do something bad that even the king wanted to see her personally?

Sakura whimpered.

Well, she _did_ destroy an entire forest on her last job…

But that wasn't _that_ bad, right?

 _Nah._

…

Right?

'Okay, don't panic, read!' she scolded herself. 'Dear Lucy Heartfilia, you have received the honor of attending the royal ball as the heir and representative of the Heartfilia Konzern held by His Highness, King Ulrik–'

Wait, what?

Hold the frick up!

Just…

 _ **WHAT?!**_

Lucy _Heartfilia_? No, she changed her name when she married Sakura's father.

The _Heartfilia Konzern_? That organization is long over and forgotten, how did the king not know about that?!

But then again, the letter wasn't sent to their house, but to the guild, which means the king should also know that Lucy _Dragneel_ was a _Fairy Tail mage_ , and therefore _not_ the heir of the family business.

Not to mention that there was also this picture of Lucy next to the letter, her guild mark very much visible with her hand on the small bump of her belly. It was taken outside of the Domus Flau probably by a paparazzi 20 years ago, Sakura knew because that was the only time her mother was pregnant during the Grand Magic Games, and it was with her, at that.

The letter goes on about the time and the place, and if the whole thing hadn't been so suspicious, Sakura probably would've thought that the king should just give up the throne at this point, since he'd very obviously gone crazy.

So had she, maybe, _sort of_ , _**probably**_ , considering the plan her mind just conjured up as an answer to the invitation.

* * *

'You can fight, right?'

That was the first thing Sakura said after arriving to see Obi lounging around up on a branch.

'What's the occasion?' he quipped as he poked his head out to look down at her.

Sakura understood his curiosity, because his injuries were almost perfectly healed and he wasn't expecting her to show up again, since they had no actual business with each other now.

'I'm sure you can fight,' she said again.

'What, you want me to join the military?' he asked before jumping off and landing in front of her. 'Sorry to disappoint, but I'd be a horrible soldier.'

'And why is that?' she asked with narrowed eyes.

'I can fight,' he answered her previous question instead, the irritable smirk present on his face as always. 'The real question is, why ask when you already knew?'

'I have a favor to ask.' Obi raised both eyebrows in genuine surprise, but that was the only feature that betrayed his emotions. Sakura took that as a cue to continue. 'I need you to escort me to the royal ball.'

He kept staring at her for a good minute or two (make that five), and she kept staring back, listening to the sounds of the forest, and feeling strangely calm despite the situation.

Then Obi blinked.

'Excuse me?' he asked as his eyebrows almost disappeared into his hairline.

'You heard me,' said Sakura as she crossed her arms. 'My job is to investigate and I need someone else to watch my back.'

'Don't you have an entire guild of people to ask?'

'No, I want to leave them out of this,' muttered Sakura with a slight shake of her head.

'I thought you guys were like one or something,' he said as he leisurely stretched, awaiting the glare Sakura sent her for the disrespectful teasing.

'I'm going to pretend to be a rich heir and you will be my bodyguard.'

'Says you?'

'Exactly,' she nodded.

'Alright,' he shrugged. His lips curled into a smug grin when she openly gaped at him. 'I _am_ getting kinda bored. There's not much to do around here, ya know.'

'I-I guess,' she said, swallowing her shock at how easily he agreed. _He probably wouldn't have if he were an actual criminal._ And knowing that Sakura felt like a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders (or her heart).

'When is this ball?' he popped a blade of grass in his mouth, which Sakura thought he only did to look more like an asshole.

'Tomorrow night, which means we'll go in the morning. We're going to need some new clothes as well,' she declared before bursting out laughing at the displeased frown that appeared on Obi's face.

* * *

The beautiful autumn forest was truly a sight to behold, but Luna was getting impatient and unbearably curious. They'd been walking for a long time now, even though she couldn't say how long precisely.

'Where are we going, exactly?'

'Where do you want to go?' asked Calico without turning her head to look at her.

'Isn't it a bit late to ask that?' asked back Luna meekly. 'I mean, I don't know.'

They continued walking in silence, and Luna was seriously starting to feel frustrated as she stared at the back of Calico's head. She let out a loud sigh and diverted her attention to the fallen leaves on the ground. She cocked her head to the side as she studied their colors and sizes, noticing a recurring pattern, which went brown, yellow, orange, brown, yellow, or–

'I used to come to a forest like this when I was young, just like you,' said Calico softly, and Luna returned her gaze to her light blue locks. 'I lived on a farm with my parents outside of town, which was next to a small forest. I loved coming here, especially in autumn. My mother wasn't happy about it, but sometimes my father joined me. We played in the fallen leaves and chased each other down the hills.'

'That sounds nice,' whispered Luna with a small smile.

'It was, until one day a monster attacked us and he died while protecting me.'

'Oh,' breathed Luna. 'I'm sorry.'

'You don't need to apologize, it was my foolishness that ended his life, not yours,' clarified the woman, glancing over her shoulders. 'Besides, it doesn't really matter anymore. I'm already dead.'

Luna decided to ignore the last comment. 'I'm sure it wasn't your fault. It just–'

'–happened?' asked Calico bitterly. 'It did, but it was my fault. I could've protected him, you see. I had magic on my side, but I wasn't strong enough to use it.'

'You're a mage?'

'When I was alive, yes, I was. As a child, no, but I could've been,' she said cryptically, which confused Luna even more.

'What kind of mage ar– were you?' she asked, cringing at the past term. Was she talking to a ghost of some kind? The thought was unsettling.

'I had a contract with a few Celestial Spirits myself.'

'What keys?' asked Luna as she scurried next to her with a bounce in her steps.

'Would you like to see them?' asked Calico with a fond smile.

Luna's head bobbed up and down as she nodded rapidly, before her head painfully slammed into a solid object with a soft thud. She reeled back, feeling slightly dazed and pressed her hands at the throbbing area, while she peered back at Calico, who stood a few feet away, smirking to herself.

' 's not funny,' she muttered weakly, but the woman's smirk only grew.

'Pardon me,' she quipped before disappearing into the solid object Luna rudely introduced to her forehead.

Wait, how did she–?

Luna looked up and found a big tree right in front of her, which was actually a house with small white windows and a door that Calico left wide open for Luna. The tree-building was uneven at places, some windows were smaller than others, and to Luna the whole thing looked like it came "alive" from a child's drawing.

When she stepped inside however, this feeling vanished, as the big room inside was full of expensive looking furniture that stirred some kind of memory inside Luna's mind. Calico was standing by a big green couch, staring at the cushions. Luna slowly walked closer, then inhaled sharply as she noticed what the woman was _actually_ looking at.

Three Celestial gate keys.

Two Jade Keys blended into the couch, while the third one, a Platinum Key stood out, brightly glowing in the dim light the lamps provided.

'The Gate of the Eastern Ox, the Gate of the Eastern Dragon,' said Calico as she pointed to each one of them, 'and the Gate of the Beauty.'

'Wow,' gasped Luna, 'you have a Platinum Key!'

'Had,' murmured Calico. 'Since I'm dead, our contract is broken. I want you to have them.'

'Wh–What?' squeaked Luna with wide eyes. 'Me?! B-But I can't–'

'Yes you can,' told her Calico sternly. 'Where do you want to go?'

Luna blinked. 'Huh?'

'Where do you want to go? The question from before still stands.'

The pinkette stared at her, feeling uncertain, until the sound of an explosion startled them and the room started shaking. The lights cut off as the lamps fell off the walls and books started slipping from the shelves, along with a vase that shattered upon meeting the floor.

'No,' muttered Calico, expression lost and desperate.

'What's happening?' yelled Luna.

'Where do you want to go?' repeated Calico her earlier question.

'I don't understand!'

'Just answer! Where do you want to go?'

'I–' Luna started saying, but a loud bang interrupted her. She felt her limbs grow cold very fast as pain soared through her body. She slowly looked down, suddenly feeling too exhausted to even move her neck properly, then at the sight of _red_ her knees buckled.

'Luna!' shouted Calico and ran to the girl, catching her before she slumped to the ground. 'Oh no, no, no, no! Why now? Where do you want to go?'

 _Why does she keep asking that?_

'Get a grip, Luna! Where do you want to go?'

 _Please be quiet, I'm tired._

'Foolish girl, snap out of it!'

 _I just wanna sleep._

'Where do you want to go?!'

 _I miss my bed now._

'I want to go home,' she gasped out before the noise stopped and everything turned black.

* * *

Her brown eyes opened to see the ceiling of her bedroom.

Her body felt sore and her throat was painfully dry. She tried to sit up, but everything hurt. She groaned and started coughing.

'Here, here, drink this! Quick! Come on, Luna,' said a gentle voice above her, and she barely registered the cold surface of the glass as it was handed to her before its content was down her throat.

'Thank you,' she rasped out, looking up at her savior. Her vision was swimming, but she could recognize the voice as her sister's grey exceed partner. 'Thank you so much, Beatrice.'

'How are you feeling?' she asked as her wings disappeared and she landed in the girl's lap.

'Okay, I guess,' she said while trying to give the feline a smile, but it came out more like a grimace.

'You're definitely not okay. You were in a coma for three weeks!'

'Three weeks?' choked out Luna, before she started violently coughing again.

'I'll bring you more water!' said Beatrice urgently as her wings popped out again and she flew out of the room.

Luna tried to take deep, collected breaths to stop her coughing fit, and she partially succeeded, until her gaze got stuck on something shiny at the end of her bed.

She stopped breathing.

Her brain stopped working.

Because right there, on the top of her bedsheets, were three familiar Celestial Spirit gate keys, and she didn't have a contract with any of them.

" _I want you to have them,"_ whispered a feminine voice in her head. She knew that voice, where did she know that voice from?

" _I want you to have them."_ The keys? Were they important? Were they dear to someone?

" _I want you to have them."_

 _Alright, I promise I'll take good care of them._

" _I know you will."_

* * *

The ride to Crocus was unbelievably quiet and boring.

Sakura kept fidgeting in her seat, fighting her nausea and pulling her huge pink dress that was supposed to make her look like a spoiled rich heir with all of its frills and garlands and a heck ton of tulle. Her hands were sweaty because of the white gloves she was wearing to hide her guild mark, and her hair was pinned up with the ugliest hair pins she had ever seen. She didn't complain when the hair dresser did her job, knowing she was an expert compared to Sakura, but the distaste these pins triggered were enough to stop her from becoming a frequent customer.

All in all, she was extremely uncomfortable.

Her gaze kept flickering over to the man sitting next to her. Obi was leaning against the back of his seat with his hands behind his head, eyes closed, looking every bit as comfortable in his clean-cut suit as she wasn't in her dress. Sakura knew better, though. He hated this just as much as she did, which in turn made her feel guilty for asking him to come along.

'What?'

Sakura jumped at the edge in his tone. She looked away before letting her gaze fall back on him again as he peeked one eye open.

'I was checking if you were asleep,' she said, trying to make a smooth recovery and to not throw up at the same time.

'In this?' he scoffed, gesturing to his clothes. 'It'd be impossible.'

She only hummed in agreement and he closed his eyes again. Sakura sighed as the deafening silence engulfed them once again.

'I'll tell you a riddle,' Obi spoke up again, and the pinkette hummed again. 'A knight riding a horse comes into a village on Friday. He spends three days at the village, then leaves on Friday. How did he do it?'

'Time travel?' asked Sakura quietly, gulping down her sudden sickness.

'Think simple.'

'He only spent three days at the village, but he went somewhere else on the other days of the week, and then he left the village for good on Friday.' Good Mavis, this was the longest sentence she ever spoke on a carriage. She felt strangely proud of this accomplishment.

'Is that how _you_ think simple?' he asked, his trademark smirk slowly pulling on the corners of his lips.

The carriage abruptly stopped, startling Sakura's stomach as she immediately sprung out the door to empty its contents. Obi politely waited for her to finish, dry amusement sparkling in his yellow orbs.

'Didn't know you had motion sickness,' he quipped as Sakura downed a bottle of water.

'I might have forgot to mention,' she said with a flat tone. 'If you laugh, I'll hurt you.'

'Why would I? I'm merely just a servant here, Miss Heartfilia,' he bowed slightly, reminding Sakura of the part they're supposed to play from now on, but the small smirk never left his lips, and she was seriously considering hurting him.

Upon entering the Mercurius Palace the pair was met with a dozen of guards and a young man standing on top of the stairs with his hands behind his back. He had short green hair and a charming smile, which wasn't big enough to reach his dark brown eyes. He was wearing a white cape that hid most of his clothing, the only thing Sakura could see were a pair of knee-high black boots where the cape ended. The cape was held together by a golden brooch with the royal crest on it.

'Good afternoon,' he greeted her with a smooth and even – dare she say practiced – tone as he stepped closer. 'My name is Valentine E. Fiore, Prince of Fiore.'

'Your Highness,' uttered Sakura before bowing. 'My name is Sakura Heartfilia. My mother, Lucy Heartfilia is unable to attend tonight's ball, so she asked me to represent our family in her stead.'

Sakura felt inexplicably proud of herself for sounding so professional. She could've sworn she heard Obi murmur a quietly impressed "Nice!" behind her.

'My father was expecting your mother's arrival, but I'm sure he'll be delighted to see you as well. These guards will take your luggage and show you to your room. I sincerely hope you will enjoy your stay here.'

As the guards moved to pick up their bags, Sakura could hear Obi muttering something like "Look who's not getting a greeting…" and "I'm sure you're being sincere with _that_ face…" and she ended up snorting as she tried to fight down her laughter. The small twitch of the prince's smile at her action made this a harder task, and after they rounded the first corner Sakura started snickering and only stopped when they reached their room.

After the guards left they explored their quarters and found two separate rooms for each of them, though they weren't the same size. Obviously, the one with the queen sized bed was for the rich girl and the closet was for the bodyguard.

Obi only let out a snide remark but otherwise seemed unaffected by this arrangement.

" _I literally lived in a forest for weeks, Miss Heartfilia, of course it doesn't bother me."_

Obi eventually decided to distance himself in his room, but when he didn't move from his spot next to her bed, she asked him if something was wrong.

'You know what, Miss Heartfilia?' he asked then.

'I'm going to grow tired of that _really_ quickly,' she grumbled. 'What is it?'

'The horse's name was Friday,' was all he said, his eyes glinting mysteriously, smirk proudly in display before the door of his room closed behind him.

* * *

 _"Don't worry about it,"_ he said. _"I know how to deal with it,"_ he said. _"I'll take care of it,"_ he said.

 _Oh_ , Karma had enough of that.

Now normally, Karma had no problem with the Master, but this case was seriously screwing with all of their heads. Especially his. And this position – being sprawled out on his bed, his dark blue comforter tossed aside – was his thinking one, when he usually didn't move a muscle for hours until coming to a reasonable conclusion.

It was one thing the Master refused to hear his plan, since he admittedly didn't really have one, but there was also the job he sent his mother and her team on, and that he practically told them to _sod off_ back then when Castiel explained what had happened in Clover, which he didn't seem concerned enough about by the way.

Karma had heard speculations about a renewed Balam Alliance, but every time he got close Laxus Dreyar was kind enough to shoot him down. He could see that the master was irritated, not just with him, but also with the situation as well, but other than that he seemed sort of… Helpless?

Like he knew that there was something that could be – and should be – done, but something else was holding him back. Which is why it annoyed Karma that he tried and the master was the one who held him back.

There were just so many things and all of them led to a conclusion that Karma didn't know what to make of yet. The biggest part of this was the mysterious mission the guild never talked about (more out of discomfort than anything). Longer lasting jobs were normal, but even Gildarts called home sometimes via miniature communication lacrima – Warren still feels too proud of himself for inventing that. However, Karma hadn't heard anything from his mother in three weeks.

He wasn't the "worrier" type, but _God bless Zeref_ if this case wasn't playing with his nerves.

There was just one missing piece of the puzzle, but he couldn't–

 _Oh._

Maybe he could.

 _You idiot!_

Karma shot up from his bed and hurried down the corridor to his brother's room, pushing the door open with a little bit more force than planned. The door banged loudly against the wall before coming bouncing back and hitting him square in the face.

'Ow, ow, _ow_!'

'Holy– What happened?' exclaimed Castiel as he too jumped off his bed.

'Yes, I'm okay, thanks for asking,' said Karma while rubbing his nose. 'And you saw what happened. You freaking door just freaking hit me.'

'Not what I meant, Nii-san,' deadpanned his clone.

'Oh, that, right!' Karma shook his head, trying to shake the pain away, and failing. 'We're going on a horse chase.'

' … A what now?'

'Why do you always gotta be so difficult?' growled Karma before exiting the room as quickly as he entered.

'We've talked about this, Nii-san!' shouted Castiel as he scurried after him. 'Genuine explanations are needed so people will understand what you're talking about!'

* * *

Waking up to flashes of horseheads and fire and crying girls was not how Carla imagined her morning would go. She desperately hoped it was just a strange dream, even though she knew perfectly well it wasn't. She also knew that keeping this to herself any longer would cause consequences.

If Wendy noticed her white exceed partner's obvious distress she didn't show it. Carla knew that Cana did, however, and that did nothing to erase her worries.

And when Malcon sought her out to tell her about his vision of some Fairy Tail mages sneaking out and Jellal following them and _horseheads_ , she knew she should've just stayed in bed.

* * *

 **The quote is from the wonderfully confusing movie Inception.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Note: Ooooh, Chapter 13 on Friday the 13th!**

 **Only own my stuff, _not Fairy Tail!_**

* * *

 _ **Excelsior**_

 **A Latin word often translated as "ever upward" or "still higher".**

 **xXxXx**

'Nii-san, slow down! You're not making any sense.'

Karma was pacing back and forth in their kitchen, his head hanging as he strictly kept his gaze on the floor, his thoughts running a million miles a minute. Castiel mentally pat his own back for his quick thinking, because if he hadn't locked his brother in their small kitchen, Karma would be walking around the entire house, and Castiel didn't want to chase after him in circles. That kitchen chair he was sitting on was pretty comfortable, thank you very much.

'There _is_ a new Balam Alliance, and there _is_ a serious pact between them, and those guys back in Clover _did_ try to screw things up because they were ordered to do so,' Karma continued his rant as if he didn't hear what his brother said. Castiel knew he did (just didn't care), so he sighed and leaned back in his chair, getting ready for a wild ride.

'And the Master _isn't_ an idiot, so Mom's team was obviously sent to investigate, along with Gajeel, who's said to be perfect for these kinds of jobs.' Castiel's brows furrowed but he kept listening. 'But _it_ must have happened, because even if Master said they can't communicate us through lacrima because it would put their mission in danger, Natsu would have called anyway since he only listens when he thinks a rule is worth not breaking–'

Now Castiel was worried. 'What do you mean _it_ happened?' he asked as he rose to stand in front of his brother.

Karma's attention was buried so deep in his thoughts he only noticed his twin was in front of him when his forehead collided with Castiel's nose. His brother yelped as his hands flew to his face, while Karma just looked up into his eyes, already used to finding that specific shade of olive staring back at him disapprovingly, for it perfectly mirrored his own.

(Funny how in battle they were always flawlessly in sync, but tell them to stand next to each other and one or both of them will end up with some sort of injury caused by the other.)

'Now I'm not the only one whose nose hurts,' he said curtly before he flicked his gaze back to the kitchen tiles and restarted his pacing route.

Castiel grunted. 'What do you think happened to Mom and the others?'

'Isn't it obvious?' Karma whipped his head in his direction after stopping again. 'They found the headquarters, the guild that controls this whole thing.'

'Why would there be only one guild in control? It's an alliance–'

'25 years ago Tartaros was the strongest guild among them, and it was clearly in control. Now there's another one, and it's powerful enough that even the Midnight Howl thinks of it as a threat.'

Castiel's eyes widened. 'You're saying that they sent the howler?'

'I think the howlers planned to do something during the guild master meeting, but the boss wasn't happy about them acting on their own, so they sent a guy to shut the suspects up. Midnight Howl is very much an uncontrollable guild, and Mavis knows they caused the Magic Council more than enough trouble, but somebody was able to make them change their plans, and that's _not_ a good sign.'

'Alright, let's say they found the place,' said Castiel, desperately trying to find a loophole in his brother's theory. 'Why didn't they come back? Why didn't Natsu call like you said?'

Karma pouched his lips before clicking his tongue. 'I don't know.'

Castiel jerked his head back in surprise. Something told him Karma knew exactly what happened, and he wouldn't be lying if he said Karma had a history of withholding crucial information. This decision of his was usually rational, except Castiel couldn't help but feel apprehensive every single time it occurred.

'Alright, if– And if! _If_ what you're saying is, uh, is how things are, then it means this guild has been hiding for who knows how long right under the nose of the Magic Council and they don't have the _slightest_ clue of who they are. How is that possible?'

Karma shrugged. 'There are a few options,' he murmured as he ran a hand through his hair.

'Wait,' said Castiel, throwing up his hands in haste. 'And the "horse chase"?'

'Mystic Mustang is a part of that alliance, no doubt.'

'And what do you want to do about it?' asked the Equip mage with one eyebrow raised.

'They seem like a nice starting point for further investigation.'

'Of course they do,' muttered Castiel, his tone so heavily dripping with sarcasm that Karma wiggled his eyebrows at him, already anticipating his neurotic antics.

Meanwhile one room over Jellal Fernandes stood by the door leading to the kitchen, looking calm and collected as ever, even though his heart was impossibly heavy. He wasn't meant to overhear his sons' conversation, but he did and he didn't regret it one bit.

Which is why he decided to follow them when they left the guild in the afternoon.

His sons were accompanied by Ryū and his exceed, and Jellal had to do everything he could so Natsu's son wouldn't notice him. The boy's senses were just as great as his father's, and he paid a lot more attention to his surroundings than he let on.

The gates barely closed behind him before they were pushed open again by a small girl, who hurried to catch up to the three boys and the cat.

'Astrid?' muttered Corban.

'What are you doing?' asked Ryū, blinking in confusion.

'I'm coming with you,' declared the girl as she straightened her posture, trying to look taller than she actually was.

'The driver of the trouble train says _welcome aboard_! Can we go now?' interrupted Karma, gesturing to the direction they started.

'Won't your mom worry?' asked Ryū, while Karma sighed and turned to walk away from them.

'Nii-san! What are you doing? Wait up!' yelled Castiel as he ran after his brother.

'Nah, I'm going on a job, she has nothing to worry about,' said Astrid as she clasped her hands behind her back.

'Uh, guys?'

'What is it, Corban?'

The white feline only pointed at the twins' rapidly disappearing forms and Ryū let out a manly squeak before grabbing Astrid's hand and bolting after them. Her face's color changed to cherry red and Jellal's heart went out for the girl, reliving memories of a teenage Erza turning him into a blushing mess.

Jellal was genuinely curious about how they got the location of Mystic Mustang's guild, but it turned out they didn't. Apparently Ryū had a (more or less) reliable source, and they were on their way to Oshibana to visit him. There was a higher chance of losing them on a train, but all he had to do was follow the sounds of Ryū's groans and sick gargles and he was able to keep them in his sight.

'Please remind me, how do we know for sure you aren't just jumping to conclusions again?' asked Castiel after Karma finished explaining their predicament to their two (well, three, but Ryū was out of service at the moment) additional accomplices. 'Like with the plan–'

'If you want proof I can't give you one,' answered Karma lazily as he leaned his elbow on the armrest, watching the outside world go by in a blur. 'Maybe I'm right, maybe I'm not, but I was right more times than I was not.'

'That's a nice sized ego you've got there,' grumbled Astrid, pretending she wasn't sneaking glances at the sick boy sitting (suffering) next to Karma (and in the seat in front of her). The tattooed redhead next to her sighed, and that was the end of the conversation.

Jellal would be lying if he said the house standing alone on Avocado Street didn't seem suspicious at all. He wasn't worried per se, but knowing he couldn't follow them inside the house left a bitter taste in his mouth.

It took roughly 15 minutes before Ryū dashed out the front door, soon followed by a flying Corban, a stunned Castiel, a solemn looking Astrid and Karma, who kept a carefully neutral expression on his face. Jellal knew that look by heart, he might as well could've invented it.

'Those bastards!' the dragon boy shouted, his voice resounding throughout the whole town. He seemed to be going in a specific direction, and since the others rushed behind him without a word, Jellal took it as a cue that the source was able to name the place where Mystic Mustang was stationed.

It surprised him greatly, however, when that place turned out to be right around the corner.

Ryū broke down a small, inconspicuous trapdoor in the back of an alley, which was one street down from Avocado Street and the railway station. Jellal broke out in a cold sweat as he realized how easily this dark guild was able to stay hidden in an obnoxiously ordinary location. It was almost as if they were taunting them, _I'm right here just come and get me_.

He waited for them to go down before he opened the trapdoor after them, seeing darkness and the outlines of a ladder. Climbing down he noticed an eerie quiet that simply didn't exist in any kind of guild – and he knew he wasn't the only one. Because of that silence Ryū was surely able to pick up on the additional pair of footsteps as their sounds echoed off the walls while they made their way through the narrow hallway, but the kid showed no sign of acknowledgement. He kept walking a few steps in front of the twins (Astrid and Corban loyally flanking him on each side), holding a small flame in his hand that provided enough light to see a few feet ahead of them. Jellal estimated that the time they spent wandering in the blackness couldn't have been more than ten minutes before they reached a dead end.

'Are you kidding me?' Ryū ground out and Castiel heaved a sigh.

'Gotcha,' whispered Karma and everyone's gaze snapped to his hand.

He pushed in a loose part he found in the wall on their left, and the team stood still and watched him with bated breath.

But nothing happened.

Karma frowned and kept pushing it with more force each time, until it slowly disappeared behind the wall.

'I think that was just a loose brick, Captain IQ,' deadpanned Astrid.

Karma narrowed his eyes at her but a loud _thud_ , which startled everyone, cut off his reply. They started looking for anything that was out of place and their gazes fell on a brick laying on the ground. There was a hole in the wall on their right, which was probably where the brick used to be.

Karma stared at it for a moment before snatching it up and putting it back in his place, then pushing it over. This time the brick fell out of the hole Karma made on the left side, and the redhead picked it up again with a triumphant grin on his face.

'What was that?' asked Castiel slowly.

'It's like only half of the place was built and the other half appeared after they placed some runes to mirror it,' explained Karma while examining the brick in his hands. 'And by now it's so unbalanced the whole thing is about to collapse.'

'That's not good,' whimpered Corban.

' _Not good_ , huh?' grumbled Castiel. 'Well, I don't want to be the "I told you so" guy, but–'

'Then don't be,' quipped Karma, ignoring the burning feeling of his brother glaring a hole in his head.

'And how is that gonna help?' questioned Ryū, brows furrowed.

Karma looked at him then gave him the brick. 'Burn it.'

'How is that gonna help?' Astrid repeated the blonde's previous question.

'I'd like to see something,' was Karma answer before Ryū's hand burst into flames.

He carefully kept his fire away from the others as it slowly got warmer, and eventually got hot enough that the brick cracked and crumbled in his palm. Karma's gaze flickered between the two holes and the smoldering dust.

'Alright, now how are we gonna get in?' growled Ryū impatiently.

Karma's face broke into an ear-splitting grin. 'I'm sure there's a secret code or something that we could try to guess, but why bother with that when we can just break in?'

* * *

Luna was sure she never received a hug like that from her brother before.

She was barely able to acknowledge the appearance of her new gate keys when Ryū rushed into her room and scooped her up in his arms. Luna still wasn't fully aware of her surroundings, but she noticed the way he clung to her as if she would disappear any moment, and even though she felt faint and weak she tried to hug him back just as tightly.

After he pulled away his usual smile was back on his lips and in his eyes, and it was like that desperate need for reassurance was never there.

That morning, before she woke up, her sister left a small note that said she went on a job, alone. Beatrice said there was nothing to worry about, but Luna could clearly see the exceed was hurt that Sakura left her behind without a word. Not to mention she knew that the last job the girl went on without her partner ended quite abruptly and rather disturbingly.

Later that day Ryū also went on a job and she was left alone with Beatrice. She used that time to study her new keys and eventually decided to try and form a contract with their spirits. Beatrice insisted she rested a little more since she was still physically weak, but Luna felt loaded with magic power and she was itching to put it to use again.

'I'll be fine, Beatrice,' she said quietly, her lips curling into a timid smile at the exceed's stern expression. 'I'll just summon them to set up the contract, I won't keep them here for long.'

Beatrice let out a defeated sigh. 'Alright. But you have to stay in bed, and don't push yourself too hard, okay?'

Luna nodded happily and waved the first key out, smiling big as she felt the magic power surge in her veins. After a quiet _ding-dong_ the Eastern Ox, Ozai appeared in front of her bed.

The spirit stood on two legs and wore a maroon robe, which covered his grey fur. He had huge curled horns on the top of his head, and his expression was hard as his gaze found Luna's.

'H-Hello,' stuttered the young mage, intimated by his posture. 'My name is Luna, and I'd like to form a contract with you, if that's okay.'

The ox spirit kept boring a hole in her head, and Luna felt Beatrice crawl closer to her on the bed.

He suddenly huffed, letting out a huge puff of air through his nose. 'I'd be my pleasure, Miss Luna,' he spoke sagely in a low, smooth voice.

Luna beamed at him. When their contract was done, he went back to the spirit world and Luna prepared to summon her next new friend. Holding out the key and opening her mouth to call upon the spirit, Luna was blinded by a sudden light and she got a face full of black fur.

'You shouldn't summon the dragon in here, he's a bit… Scratch that, he's huge. Your room would be destroyed.'

Blinking her eyes open she focused on the familiar voice and caught sight of a pair of rubies staring at her expectantly.

She slowly put the other jade key down and stared back at the cat in her lap. She could see Beatrice frowning in confusion from the corner of her eyes before the exceed promptly sprouted wings and flew out the door, much to Luna's surprise.

'Well… What about the Beauty?' she asked tentatively, her voice quiet as she pointed at the platinum key.

'She's just a bitch,' he replied as he jumped off her lap. 'She'd probably just keep insulting you.'

'Oh.' His comment disheartened Luna a little, but she was determined not to show that.

She didn't think she succeeded.

'But if you do summon her at some point, don't tell her I said that.'

The spirit walked around in her room as he studied her belongings closely. Luna didn't know where his sudden interest came from, but she felt glad that he at least visited her.

A bright flash interrupted her thoughts and she turned her head to see his human form, and the way he was uncomfortably trying to ignore her gaze.

The few times she saw him he stood proud and tall and self-satisfied, and the world could've fallen apart beneath his feet for all he cared because it held no meaning to him. Now his shoulders were stiff and his expression was blank and as he leaned against the wall in a last attempt at nonchalance Luna found he didn't recognize this boy.

'You're an idiot, did you know that?' he asked quietly.

The girl's eyes widened as she tilted her head to the side, staring at him as if his stoic face would give her all the answers she needed. At her lack of response his gaze flickered towards her once more, and he sighed upon seeing her expression.

'I didn't think you'd keep it up for this long. I was expecting you to send me back after a day, maybe two, but this was just dumb of you. Why didn't you just send me back?'

He paused, waiting for a response that Luna didn't want to give. So she didn't. He sighed again, letting out a disgruntled sound.

'Were you even planning on sending me back? How can you call yourself a Celestial Spirit mage if you let your spirits walk all over you?'

Luna was prepared to answer him, telling him about how her view of a Celestial Spirit mage differed from his without showing how much his criticism hurt her, but he gave her no chance this time.

'You do realize I could've been banished from the Spirit Realm if you kept it up and died, right? Your only luck is that I felt your power weakening and went back myself.'

"… _the cat was banished from the circle…"_

She suddenly left guilty, then both pity and sympathy for him. Even though he was alone now, he would be completely lost if he were banished from a place he knew and belonged to again. Wait, did he feel like he belonged there?

"… _since he already entered the Realm he became a Celestial Spirit…"_

Wasn't he just stuck there? Was he…okay there?

"… _cursed to have two forms…"_

Cursed. He was _cursed_.

He was definitely not okay there.

 _How do I know all of this, though?_

He let out a frustrated growl before continuing. 'Why did you accept that deal? I almost killed you! I was just testing you, I didn't want to kill you! Why didn't you just send me back?!'

The pieces finally clicked as the pinkette tilted her head back and stared into the boy's blazing eyes. He was upset, and no matter what he said, she didn't feel like his anger was directed at her, but at himself. He had no intention of hurting her, let it be her feelings or her physical condition. He was misunderstood, just like Toph had said back then, and Luna understood now.

'I'm sorry,' she uttered and hoped that this could be a beginning of something.

'Why are you apologizing? Can't you see I'm not mad at you?' he ground out, knowing full well that the things he said before contradicted this.

'It won't happen again,' she said, trying to reassure him with the strongest voice she could muster that she was alright.

'No, it won't,' he breathed, looking down as he picked at her pastel pink carpet with his shoes. 'I'm Tao.'

'I'm sorry?' asked Luna quickly.

The spirit inhaled deeply. 'My name is Tao. I'm free every single day of the week if you need me.'

Luna stared at him for minutes before realizing he just agreed to form a contract with her. She grinned at him before beckoning him to come closer, and he did so without a sound of protest. He knelt down in front of her bed so she didn't have to crane her neck to look at him, and she took his right hand in hers, shaking it slightly.

'My name is Luna, and I like taking jobs with my friends, so I'm probably going to need your help from now on.'

Her confident declaration felt unusual even to her, but she couldn't help but let out a small chuckle at Tao's utterly dumbfounded expression.

* * *

A loud _boom_ shook the entire hallway as Ryū Fire Dragon Wing Attacked his way past the previous dead-end of a wall.

'Just as I thought, they didn't even use runes to protect the bricks,' said Karma as he climbed through the hole Ryū was proudly beaming at. 'How stupid is that?' he muttered.

'Well, this place is kind of in plain sight, so how stupid is that?' fired back Astrid as he followed the redhead.

'You just have to have a say in everything, don't you?' asked Karma with a half-smirk.

'I'd just like to hurt your ego, to be honest.'

'You should give up,' said Castiel as he gave her a knowing look and a deep sigh.

'I see light,' commented Ryū out of the blue, squinting as he stared to the rest of the passage.

'That's our cue, kids!' remarked Karma before he started marching ahead.

However, as he took a step forward, the ground beneath him disappeared. Castiel jumped to catch his brother and he was able to grab his hand, but since he had nothing to hold onto he ended up falling down with Karma. The others tried to help and reached after his foot, but it was too late and they could only watch as the ground swallowed them up whole.

They stared at the spot the brothers vanished under in silence before Corban let out a whine.

'Now what?!'

'We should continue going ahead, maybe we can find them inside,' said Ryū, already jumping off and racing to (hopefully) the end of the tunnel.

The girl and the cat shared a look before clumsily scrambling after him. Unbeknownst to the two (but not to the blonde boy), Jellal was close behind.

* * *

The pair who fell down the trap was cautiously looking around the dungeon they ended up in. Unlike in the tunnel above, here the walls were littered with small torches that gave less light than Ryū's flames, but the teens were able to see each other at least.

Castiel was internally freaking out until he heard his brother start to hum.

'What are you humming about?' he demanded.

'I did not expect this, but I'll make do with it for now,' responded Karma, staring past Castiel with a scrutinizing gaze.

'Oh, yeah? And what's the plan?' quipped Castiel as he crossed his arms.

'We should get out of here, but first,' muttered Karma as he pointed at something behind his twin, 'we beat her.'

Castiel's eyes widened and he turned around so quickly he almost got a whiplash.

The something Karma found was actually _someone_. It was a female, rather angry looking someone, with dark skin and vibrant orange hair. Her face was pulled into a snarl as she cracked her knuckles before she took out a whip from the pocket of her pants, which were black and had red flames printed on them starting from her ankles going all the way up to her thighs. Her black sleeveless top showed off a white horsehead symbol, her guild mark on her left shoulder.

'How dare you come here,' she hissed threateningly.

'It is called breaking and entering for a reason,' deadpanned Karma.

She growled as she snapped her whip and it hit the ground where Karma previously stood with a deafening _crack_.

'Jeez, I don't like her,' commented Karma as he landed next to his brother.

'Have you ever liked anyone, honestly?' asked Castiel, his tone flat.

'Fair question.'

'You little brats! How dare you bother me? He left me and I can't even be furious at him without anyone butting in!' she roared and flicked her wrist again, flipping her whip in the twins' direction.

They jumped away and activated their magic at the same time. Karma zapped at the woman with Meteor while Castiel ran at her in his Flight Armor, matching his brother's speed. The woman just stood there, scowling until they got close enough and prepared to attack. She snapped her fingers and small white flames rose from her palms that spread to her attackers.

The boys' faces twisted into a surprised frown as their spells disappeared and they dropped to the ground in a crouch. Castiel hissed as he felt the flames burn his clothes and lick at his skin instead of vanishing.

He averted his attention to Karma after hearing him yelp. 'Flames that dispel magic _and_ burn?' he grumbled. 'Who are you?'

'The last man I gave my name to betrayed me! I no longer want the Souzan name,' she screamed, and while Castiel came to an uneasy recognition upon hearing her name, Karma seemed simply satisfied with her answer.

'Well then,' he said, gracefully dodging the woman's whip. 'I really do _not_ like you, Souzan.'

'Do you want to die or something?!' yelled Castiel incredulously.

'I haven't decided yet,' grunted Karma before the whip unexpectedly curled around his ankle. 'Uh-oh.'

He was suddenly in the air as Souzan pulled her weapon back, slamming him into the wall behind her. Castiel sweatdropped before he changed into his Flame Emperor Armor, hoping to be able to resist the white fire. Souzan simply snapped her fingers again and her fire magic enveloped his form faster than he could think, and burned him with his armor gone.

He glared at the woman and she sent back a satisfied smirk before turning to the other brother, who was now leaning against the crater he left on the wall. Castiel glared at his brother in unison with Souzan and Karma shrugged before he jumped forward with an extended fist. The woman swiftly leaned out of the way and turned to kick him in the back, but he caught her foot and flipped her over to Castiel.

The Equip mage summoned a sword and slashed at the woman, successfully injuring her stomach before she jumped away, landing next to Karma. Her eyes became wide as saucers as she realized her mistake, snapping her whip in his direction as she hurried to get further away from him.

Karma activated Meteor again, whipping behind her and as she turned around he surprised her with a fist in her face. Souzan reeled back from the impact and raised her hand to spread her fire around the room, but Castiel stopped her with two swords and she stretched out her whip in front of her, trying to stop his blades. She received a kick on her left side from Karma, which sent her flying into the concrete.

She got up shakily, preparing to snap her whip, but she noticed too late that she only held one half of the weapon. Cut in two by Castiel's swords, the other half lay at the twins' feet in shreds.

Souzan started to breathe heavily as her gaze flickered between the remains of her whip while tears slowly dripped down her face. The twins stiffened at the sight and sent each other unsure looks, but she regained their attention as she began screaming.

'How dare you?! This was a wedding gift from him!'

She rushed towards them, attacking them sloppily and more aggressively than before with only half of her weapon in use. Using his speed and her distress, Karma tied her up with her shortened weapon as Castiel summoned a bigger, heavier sword and hit her on the back of her head with its handle, effectively knocking her out.

The two stood frozen in place, staring at the unconscious woman for a while before deeming the situation safe and letting their shoulders slump.

'I'm not gonna lie, this was weird,' commented Karma.

'She has some serious relationship issues,' agreed Castiel. Looking up, he was met with his twin's flat stare. _Takes one to know one_ , it seemed to say.

'Let's look for a way out,' he said quietly, avoiding the subject like always. Karma only rolled his eyes and lifted the woman on his shoulder, preparing to _look for a way out_.

'Stop mocking me!'

'I don't know what you're talking about.'

* * *

 _Come on, this is nothing! It's just a ball, there's nothing to be afraid of! You've fought bigger monsters than this entire castle!_

…

Alright, that's a lie. The palace was _huge_.

And there were things she should be afraid of! What if someone asked her to dance? She had no idea how to do that! _Balls are usually for dancing, how could you forget that, idiot?!_

Sakura even had to change her dress and hair again, which she really wasn't glad to do. Who knew it was this troublesome to look like a spoiled princess?

'Are you ready?'

Obi's voice snapped her out of her reverie and she silently nodded, not trusting her voice as they walked closer to the long staircase, which led to the ballroom. Sakura could see a gigantic door at the top, almost as big as the main gates.

 _That's not intimidating at all_ , she thought sarcastically.

Obi must have seen her hesitate, because he sent a mischievous smirk in her way before bowing in mock courtesy, and held his hand out towards the stairs.

' _Excelsior!_ '

* * *

 **Let's call Souzan's magic White Fire, Idk…**

 **And yes, The Last Airbender was an inspiration for the names of the spirits of the Eastern Zodiac. Pls don't judge me.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's Note: Hello, people of the internet!**

 **Friday the 13th may be over, but my weird fascination with the day isn't. Also, t** **he POVs don't always work as they should, but oh well.**

 **Since I said this many times before, you probably all know by now that** _ **I definitely don't own Fairy Tail.**_

* * *

 _ **Friday the 13th**_

" **A knight riding a horse comes into a village on Friday. He spends three days at the village, then leaves on Friday. How did he do it?"**

 **xXxXx**

The gates of the grand ballroom opened with a loud _creak_ , but no one turned to look. The music was too loud for anyone – Sakura excluded – to hear anything, and Sakura wondered how the guests were able to talk to each other at all. Perhaps they were just pretending, nodding and smiling, since these noble people usually talked about the same things.

 _(The weather is nice, is it not? Yes, yes.  
This is a pleasant ball, is it not? Yes, yes.  
Prince Valentine is quite handsome, is he not? Yes, yes.)_

Realizing the same thing, Obi sent her a look, asking _how to proceed, Miss Heartfilia?_

To be completely honest, Sakura hadn't really thought this through. She didn't think she'd ever get to this point, but she was here now, so the only thing she could do was play the part.

She shrugged in response to Obi's questioning gaze and her companion's eyes started twinkling in amusement. Sakura wondered why she only started to regret her choice of asking him to accompany her now.

She turned to look around the room, trying to find any suspicious people among the crowd. Sadly, everyone looked equally suspicious to Sakura in their dazzling ball gowns and with their noses in the air.

She felt someone tap her shoulder and looked over it to see Obi holding his hand out to her, obviously asking for a dance. She glared as hard as she could into those stupid yellow eyes of his, and watched as his lips slowly curled into a huge smirk before he grabbed her hand pulled her closer to him.

 _Let's teach you how to dance_ , his eyes said.

 _I didn't know you could dance_ , her skeptic quirk of an eyebrow said.

He gave her a smile full of silent laughter and Sakura froze, realizing that this was the first time he showed her his _real_ smile. He took one step back and stared at her expectantly, and it took her a few seconds and around five confused blinks to understand he wanted her to follow him.

This continued on for some time until Sakura (sort of) got the hang of it. By the time she decided to stop the music in the room became quieter and the guests all began to form a crowd at the end of the room. Sakura presumed that the arrival of the king had something to do with it.

'Thank you for the dance, sir,' she said to Obi as she bowed her head playfully.

'You're welcome, milady,' he bowed back.

'I'm not anybody's lady,' she retorted hastily, frowning as he let out a snort, one that made her feel like she was left out of an inside joke.

'Do you want to be?' he asked as he leaned closer.

Sakura's stance didn't waver as she crossed her arms. 'Do you want to get slapped?'

He raised his eyebrows and his eyes widened with mirth. 'Is that a trick question?'

'Are you sure you want to find out?' she quipped before joining the other guests.

Several guards were stationed by the two large staircases that led to a podium at the end of the room. In the middle stood a golden throne with two smaller wooden ones at each side. The king was standing at the edge of the podium, his hands behind his back as his small brown eyes studied each invited person carefully.

Just like his son, he wore a white cape held together by a golden brooch with the royal emblem on it, which was almost hidden by his dark beard. His long brown hair fell loosely on his back, and a shining golden crown sat atop his head, its jewels matching his blue garments in color.

The prince was standing on his right side, his posture mirroring his parent's, his white clothing was, however, somewhat more elegant. He even had a small crown himself, which was covered in many tiny pieces of jade.

It was barely noticeable, but he was chewing his lower lip as his eyes darted around the room. When his eyes met hers, the corner of his lips twitched, and since the motion still looked as hilarious as it did a few hours ago, Sakura tried to smother her laugh with her hands, which earned her another snort from Obi.

'Thank you all for attending tonight's ball,' the king spoke loudly. 'As you know, this ball is where my son, Prince Valentine will choose his future queen–'

'No,' breathed Sakura in disbelief, suddenly feeling terrified. Did she finish reading that invitation? She couldn't remember. _Oh, crap._

'So, you might just become somebody's lady tonight,' whispered Obi, who seemed to be having too much fun about her predicament.

'That can't happen! I mean, I'm here as a technically nonexistent person!' hissed Sakura as she gestured wildly with her hands.

'Oh, right. I forgot that for a second, excuse me _Miss Heartfilia_.'

'Shut it,' she growled through gritted teeth, racking her brain for an idea that could get her out of the situation.

Her attention snapped back to the present at hearing the guests' claps, and she wanted to bang her head against the wall for not listening to the rest of the king's speech. She quickly turned around to ask Obi, but the music was already returned to its original volume, which meant he wouldn't hear her question.

Heaving a defeated sigh, Sakura's gaze shifted to the dance floor, where the prince was already waltzing with the first bride candidate.

As time crept forward and the prince's partners kept switching, Sakura realized that the king's letter made a little more sense now. He wanted to invite Lucy _and_ her daughter – hence the pregnant picture – but for some reason he didn't know their old family business went down the drain along with the entire Heartfilia fortune. He wanted to meet Lucy's daughter and measure her personality for the role of the kingdom's future queen while also hoping for a heritage of good connections and an even better wealth.

Now she just needed to figure out how to _get the hell out of here_ before the king asks her why she wasn't willing to share a dance with his son.

Would he accept a bathroom break excuse?

That's the oldest trick in the book, but still…

She needed to find a bathroom. For women, preferably.

She only sent Obi a look that hopefully conveyed _Stay here_ and _I'm fine just gotta escape for a sec_ before slipping past the small sea of people and out the door. Taking a deep breath, she made a beeline for the hallway on her left, where an utterly bored looking butler was leaning against the doorframe. His eyes widened as he struggled to straighten his posture but ended up tripping on his own feet. Sakura winced at the sound of his face meeting the marble floor, then stepped closer and tentatively held out a hand towards him. Accepting her hand, he ungracefully pulled himself up from the awkward pile he just degraded himself into, and thanked her quietly.

'Sorry for scaring you, mister,' she said apologetically. 'I just wanted to ask… Where can I find the restroom?'

'Just right at the end of this hall, milady,' replied the butler warily while avoiding her eyes, likely feeling embarrassed at his clumsy slip-up.

Sakura felt the annoyance spread in her system at the _milady_ but swiftly turned away from the butler before she said something to insult him. Now the title kind of made sense, but that would mean Obi was making fun of her for not understanding…

 _That irritating cat-eyed freak really makes me want to hurt him._

* * *

 _The four teens with the flying cat rang the doorbell of the only house on Avocado Street. After minutes of waiting they were dejectedly ready to leave, when the front door opened up just enough for one eye to peek out. It was dark and blue and the person it belonged to wasn't wearing their glasses, but Ry_ _ū recognized it anyway._

' _Mr. Tate, we'd like to speak with you,' said_ _Ry_ _ū as kindly as possible, sensing the man's discomfort._

' _Who are you?' the man asked, his lone eye shifting about frantically._

' _I was the mage you hired about a month ago. I had to look for a flower for your daughter, remember?'_

 _The man audibly gasped, the eye widened and the door slammed closed. The blonde slowly blinked as Karma looked at him questioningly. He opened his mouth to say something, anything that would make their case better, then closed it in hesitation. He opened it again, but this time the door snapped open as the man grabbed a fistful of his scarf and yanked him inside the house before impatiently herding the others inside as well._

 _Adjusting the precious gift on his neck with a frown,_ _Ry_ _ū watched Mr. Tate lock and barricade the door. No one dared to utter a word as the man slowly turned to them, his gaze flickering around the room wildly._

' _I'm sorry,' he spoke after a few moments. 'I was outside, gardening. I-I couldn't open the door sooner.'_

' _You have a garden?' asked Astrid eagerly. 'Do you have any pretty flowers? Can you show me?'_

' _NO!' he yelled and the others started, Corban going as far as hiding in his partner's scarf with only his ears peeking out from the bundle of fabric. 'I-I mean it's messy. I was digging up place for f-flowers, so it's messy.'_

' _Alright,' said_ _Ry_ _ū quietly while he looked around. 'Where's Dina and Andrew?'_

' _T-They're, um, uh, upstairs. Yeah, they're playing in her room.'_

' _Can I see them?'_

' _Why did you come here?' asked Mr. Tate as he started walking around the room, examining different pictures on the walls and relics in the display cabinet._

' _We came to ask you for information, sir,' replied Karma as he stepped closer to him, joining the conversation._

' _What kind?'_

' _We have reason to believe you know the location of the dark guild Mystic Mustang.'_

 _The man went rigid as a small picture frame fell from his hands and shattered upon meeting the wooden floor. Thanks to his heightened senses Ry_ _ū was able to see the picture of Dina with a woman, probably her mother, under the glass shards._

' _I don't know anything,' the man said quietly but firmly, his back facing them._

' _That's what they all say,' muttered Karma, bemused._

' _I don't know anything!'_

' _Mr. Tate, we can help and we will,' declared_ _Ry_ _ū, moving to stand in front of the man's back, arms crossed._

' _You can't,' the man uttered, sounding every bit as broken as the picture frame at his feet._

' _Mr. Tate, I'm sorry to ask now, but the long way tired us out. Can I ask you to bring us some tea?'_

 _The boys stared at Astrid as if she had suddenly grown another head (in Corban's case it was still growing) but the girl looked each of them in the eye carefully before turning her gaze back to the distressed man's back._

 _Mr. Tate jerkily nodded and disappeared behind the kitchen door rather quickly. Astrid scurried over to the back door and fled into the garden._

' _Astrid!'_

 _Even though Castiel was the one who called after her,_ _Ry_ _ū was the one who followed her. Running out the back door the putrid smell of burnt flesh instantly assaulted his nose, and distracted by Corban's squirming in his scarf, he almost collided with Astrid, who was kneeling on a pile of dirt._

' _What are you doing?' he asked with a grimace._

' _This is a little bit too big to be a flower bed,' answered Astrid as she started digging._

' _Maybe he wants to plant big flowers,' quipped_ _Ry_ _ū, not convinced by Astrid's overthinking._

' _Could you at least help?' she growled back, and next thing_ _Ry_ _ū knew he was sitting next to her, helping._

 _Some minutes passed before he saw her froze from the corner of his eyes. After taking in her frightened expression and impossibly wide eyes, he followed her gaze and felt his stomach drop._

 _In the hole there was the unmistakable form of a four-legged body covered in – once beautiful white – dirty grey fur._

' _C'mon, let's get back inside,' he whispered as he gently grabbed Astrid's forearm and stood up, leading her to the door._

 _The twins' identical but differing gazes (Castiel's disapproving and Karma's curious) snapped in their direction as they entered the house, and_ _Ry_ _ū was relieved to see that Mr. Tate hadn't come out to check on them while preparing the hot beverage._

' _Did you see any dead bodies?' joked Karma in a low voice._

 _Astrid blenched even more and_ _Ry_ _ū glared at him. 'One, a few days old. Their dog was burned alive.'_

 _Castiel brows knitted together as his eyes widened, while Karma's face just went blank._

' _Here you go,' said Mr. Tate as he stepped out of the kitchen with a tray of mugs in his hand._

 _The twins silently accepted it, while Astrid struggled a little to pick her mug up with shaking hands, and_ _Ry_ _ū outright refused._

' _Mr. Tate, we know about Andrew,' he stated firmly and the man flinched. 'Where is Dina?'_

 _The man began to take heavy breaths, shaking all over as he walked away from them._

' _Mr. Tate, we can help and we will,' the blonde repeated his earlier promise. 'Please, let us help.'_

 _The man inhaled sharply. 'The deadline came but I didn't have the money… The maid,' he mumbled, 'I only just hired her last month, before all of this began… I never thought… Souzan– She wasn't even a good maid, but I didn't think that…'_

' _Didn't think what?' prodded Karma softly._

' _That she was one of them,' Mr. Tate whispered. 'She was one of them, and she– They took her.'_

' _The maid?' asked Castiel slowly._

' _No,' the man whimpered. 'She's one of them. She helped them take her away.'_ _He let out a sob before helplessly sinking to the floor._ _'They took my daughter.'_

 _Ry_ _ū's eyes widened in understanding as he felt his muscles quiver in rage._

' _Do you know where?' questioned Karma, and Mr. Tate feverishly shook his head._

' _I can't say. They said I can't. They said that if I did, Dina would…'_

' _We won't let them hurt her if you tell us where they took her,' whispered Astrid._

 _He raised his head and looked into the girl's maroon orbs, which were filled with resolve and the promise of a better tomorrow with Dina at his side, before the broken man let out another broken sob and told them everything._

* * *

Just thinking about that conversation had Ryū's blood boiling.

He ran along the narrow hallway, trying to reach the source of light as fast as he could. The fluttering of Corban's wings and two sets of footsteps behind him reassured him that he still had friends to fight with – and to fight for.

He came to a screeching halt at the end of the tunnel as he caught sight of a big white lump of something. He arrived into a simple, empty room that had four torches on the four walls. He saw no doors or other kind of openings, and he silently cursed. They couldn't find Karma and Castiel here.

He averted his attention to the big white lump in the corner as it started to move. Ryū steadied himself for whatever it was to reveal itself, making sure his stance was balanced as his hands curled into a fist–

Then he found himself falling face first to the ground.

'Eeeek!' shrieked a feminine voice above him.

'What are you doing, Astrid? Get off of Ryū!' he heard Corban say.

'Shut up, Corban, I accidentally ran into him!' yelled Astrid as she practically flew off of him. 'It's not like I want to be on top of him!'

'Sure, you don't,' the feline snickered.

Ryū stood back up, ignoring the dying noises Corban made while Astrid was choking him. The lump in the corner started growling and this time both girl and cat let out a startled squeak. The _thing_ slowly rose to its current height, and the trio's eyes grew along with its size.

He turned out to be a huge, paper white-skinned man. The white fabric he wore as clothing was dirty and torn, and the chains that held his ankles and wrists together snapped apart, some pieces flying over and hitting Corban in the head. The man's head was bald, and his eyes were small and vicious, bright red colored.

Ryū began to speak to ease the uneasiness in the air. 'Um, hi? Can you help us find our fr–'

The man's fist slammed down with a _boom_ , leaving a rather big crater in the ground.

'I don't think he's friendly, Ryū,' whimpered Corban.

The man let out a deafening roar and Ryū clamped his hands over his sensitive ears, trying and failing to block out the sound. The man started running to the trio, who jumped out of the way just in time to avoid getting body-slammed.

Ryū summoned an attack as soon as he was a safe distance away. 'Fire Dragon's Roar!'

The man's head turned in his direction. His eyes narrowed and Ryū's widened as the flames blew up right in his face.

'Ryū!' called Astrid before facing the man and clapping her hands together. 'Iron-Make: Tiger!'

A snarling iron tiger materialized out of her palms, slowly creeping towards the man. Its target stared at him stone-faced, until the tiger turned around and started to approach its creator with a loud growl.

'What?' murmured Astrid, backing into the wall as she tried to call her creation back, her blood running cold with the realization that she couldn't.

With a proud sounding battle cry Corban made his way towards the man, only to bounce right off him and into the wall.

'Hey, you brute! What's your deal?' demanded Ryū, feeling pretty pissed. 'Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!'

He rounded at the man with his fist aflame, but he caught it in his own. Hot lava started pouring out from between their hands and Ryū was heavily impressed that the guy didn't burn himself. He pulled his other hand back, but the man caught it before he could've landed the punch.

'Fire Dragon's Claw!'

He lifted one leg to kick him with his fire but upon reaching the man's skin it simply burnt out, leaving smoke and an even more pissed Ryū in his hold. Using that magical failure as a momentarily distraction, the man flung the blonde into the ground, putting his entire weight into the throw.

Meanwhile Astrid created another tiger that engaged into a cat fight with the other one. Rushing over to stand in front of the spot where Ryū landed, she clapped her hands again. 'Iron-Make: Gorilla!'

Making it the same size as the enemy, Astrid thrusted one hand out, making sure that this time she was in full control of the animal as it attacked the man. But then it melted away into a puddle of metal in mid-jump and she decided to change tactics.

'Iron-Make: Squirrel!'

The small and fast animal darted around the man's body, biting and scratching his skin, until the man grabbed it and crushed it in his fist. Astrid was surprised by his speed, he seemed way too heavy to be this fast.

 _A tactic change is needed again._

'Okay, new plan!' she hissed to the blonde who was slowly climbing out of the ground behind her. 'Physical attacks might be more useful.'

She summoned a pair of iron gloves and swung her fist forward, hitting the man square in the face, but he didn't even budge. Astrid let out a puff of air in fear as she felt her gloves starting to tighten around her hands.

The man used his peculiar speed again as he began to rapidly attack her with punches before giving her a strong kick in the stomach. Her mouth opened in a gasp of pain, blood dripping from it on the ground and on the man's leg. He then slammed his fist down on her head and she collapsed on the ground with a heap.

'Astrid,' Ryū rasped out, finally standing again. 'Corban! Are you up, buddy?'

'Aye!' said Corban with more spunk than he felt.

'Blind him somehow!'

'Aye, sir!'

The white feline braced himself again and shot towards the man with the speed of a bullet, attaching himself to his head with covering his eyes and letting his claws sunk into them.

Immediately grabbing the exceed, the man hollered in pain as he tried to rip him off. During their struggle Ryū charged up another attack.

'Fire Dragon's Sword Horn!'

He head-butted him in his middle, smirking as he noted his flames were still up. His satisfaction was short lived, however, for his flames disappeared only a moment later, and he bounced off the man back onto the ground. He quickly looked up to see that his partner was still covering the man's eyes, _so what was that?_

His gaze fell on Astrid as he heard her quietly groan beside him.

'You okay?'

'Stupid question deserves a stupid answer, stupid dragon boy,' she muttered back hotly, spitting out some blood between the second and the third _stupid_.

Ryū grinned in response. _She's fine._

'I need you to blind him _completely_ ,' he said, glancing back just when Corban was slammed against the wall.

'How?' she asked, bruised hands curling into a fist at the sight of her friend getting hurt.

'My flames can't reach him in time, but you might be able to.'

'I don't think so, he's way too fast…' She gasped, her lips curling into a triumphant half-smile. 'I got it!'

'I'll distract him!' yelled Ryū before running at their opponent once again.

'Never tried this one before, but here it goes…' Gaze fixated on them, Astrid clapped her hands while another roar of Ryū's was blocked. 'Iron-Make: Mosquito!'

The flock of small bugs danced their way around Ryū's next attack before buzzing right into the huge man's eyes.

'Now!'

'Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!'

Ryū's flames finally hit their target. The explosion made the man loose his footing, stumble back and eventually fall onto the ground. Astrid counted his lack of speed to be caused by his blindness, and Ryū used that as the perfect opportunity for the last strike.

'Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame!'

The giant of a man let out one last roar of pain as the attack tore right through him with another explosion, destroying the wall behind him almost completely.

As the dust settled, Ryū admired his work with a light whistle. 'He can dish it, but can't take it, it seems.'

Astrid hummed in agreement. 'How did you figure him out?'

'I didn't, really,' said Ryū, rubbing his neck with one hand. 'I noticed his eyes shifted a little bit in color when I first attacked him, so I got closer to confirm it. He did something with his eyes to make our magic useless.'

'Or turn it against us,' said Astrid while Corban walked over to the pair, his magic already drained.

A familiar voice suddenly startled them all. 'It was hard to find a staircase–'

'I was with you this whole time and I saw it–'

'No, you didn't.'

Turning around, the trio noticed the ground was wide open. A staircase popped up along with two heads of crimson hair.

'I'm telling you, it was right there since the beginning!'

'Then why didn't you say something?'

The two heads became their missing friends, Castiel and Karma, joined by an unknown woman on the latter's shoulder.

'Hi guys!' chirped the ever cheery blonde Dragon Slayer.

The identical heads turned in the trio's direction, blinking stupidly.

'Huh, it actually led us somewhere,' mumbled Karma.

'You said it's going to lead us out of there,' grumbled Castiel, sending a heated glare in his brother's way.

'And it did, so shush,' Karma waved him off. 'Do you recognize this woman?'

He dumped the unknown woman on the ground, whose eyes instantly opened and started whining over her rude awakening. Studying her closely for a few seconds, Ryū came to one conclusion.

'I don't know her.'

'How rude!' she screamed. 'I was there when you brought Dina that flower, you idiot!'

'Oh!' his eyes widened before pointing a finger at her. 'You were the horrible maid!'

'Excuse you, idiot boy! My name is Souzan!'

'Alright, time out!' said Karma. 'Who is that guy?' he demanded, jerking his chin in the direction of the defeated lump of their enemy.

Both Ryū and Astrid opened their mouth to answer, but Souzan beat them to it. 'Tommy! Tommy, are you alright?' she let out a wail. 'Waaah, you hurt my pet Tommy!'

'Your pet?' they all sweatdropped, but she continued sniffing.

'Now you destroyed both gifts from my husband.'

'What happened with your husband?' questioned Castiel with his arms folded in front of his chest, ignoring Karma's warning gaze.

'He was the guild master, and we were so happy! But earlier today he sent every member away and disbanded the guild. He left me!'

'The guild master left?' asked Karma.

'He disbanded the guild?!' asked Ryū. 'Damn him! I wanted to beat up that guy with the ugly nose and an uglier buddy who hurt Jessiel and the others.'

'You might have a chance,' said Souzan, demeanor completely changed. 'Lindan and Arad already left the guild a week ago, saying they wanted to join another, more powerful one.'

'Whatever! We'll look for those assholes and the guild master later. Now, tell me, where's Dina?'

Souzan scowled at him. 'I have no idea, honestly. My dear asked me to bring her in, and I did. She was taken from me afterwards, I don't know where she is right now.'

Guilty silence followed her declaration, filled with irritated sighs and tightening fists, and a distracted Karma.

Speaking of which…

'What is this?' he asked.

Karma was standing in front of the ruined wall, which had…another wall behind it? Something was written on it in a strange language. His hands shifted over the curves of the letters.

Ryū hurried over and started to take in the sight of the strange letters belonging to the strange language, the gears in his head turning.

 _Oh, right!_

'It's written in ancient Irinian,' he finally said.

In the dumbstruck silence he received in response he could practically hear crickets chirping. Except they weren't outside, that is. _Are there any, like, magical crickets that live inside?_ He should get a book about it when they go home…

'What does it say?' demanded Karma eagerly.

'Something about a knight riding a horse… Er, there's also a village and the day Friday appears three times as well.'

'I know that one,' came the exasperated mumble from Karma. 'That's kind of like a riddle, a very bad one that children tell each other just to see how annoyed the other will become.'

'Well the guild _was_ founded by children,' Castiel pointed out.

'Is no one gonna question how Ryū knows ancient whatever language?' whispered Corban, staring warily at Astrid as she let out a lovesick sigh, looking absolutely smitten.

'Wait, what day is it today?' Karma asked as he whipped around to face the others, his expression showing mild panic.

Castiel cocked an eyebrow before answering. 'Uh, Friday, I think. Why?'

'Son of a–'

Astrid let out a surprised yelp as the wall next to her exploded with a harsh _bang_.

'Astrid!'

The dust cloud slowly disappeared. Astrid stood, her arms raised to protect herself, behind Jellal, who had one arm stretched out in the direction of the freshly made hole.

'How long were you planning to stand behind in the dark hallway?!' demanded Karma with a frustrated tone.

Jellal sweatdropped. 'Ah, well…'

It seemed Ryū wasn't the only one who figured him out.

'Oh, I forgot about you,' muttered the aforementioned male.

'Curious, they didn't use runes for this room.'

The team's attention snapped to the broken wall where the new voice came from, catching the sight of a short figure standing on the ruins. When Souzan realized who it was, she began to crawl towards the farthest corner that was still in one piece, shaking with her eyes wide in fear.

A young teen, who looked to be about thirteen years old blinked up at them curiously. He had unruly dirty blonde hair and deep violet eyes, which were surprisingly dull compared to the honest smile he was sporting. He wore dark trousers and a red dress shirt with rolled up sleeves, showing off the worn and colorful leather bands on his wrists and his horsehead shaped black guild mark on his left forearm.

'What did you think of the riddle? Smart, isn't it?'

* * *

Sakura couldn't tell how much time passed before she finally decided it was enough and came out of her hiding place. She closed the door behind her and began to walk back to the ballroom when she met the prince halfway there.

She felt the waves of panic wash over her quickly.

'Good evening, Your Highness,' she squeaked out with an awkwardly over-tipped bow.

'Good evening,' he greeted back, 'Miss Sakura Heartfilia, I believe.'

'Yes, that's me,' she said with a small nervous chuckle. 'Um… Where are you headed?'

'To the restroom,' he replied slowly, the corners of his lips curling upwards into an amused smile.

'Oh, right! Of course.'

She turned to leave but she miscalculated the directions a little and almost ended up walking into the wall. She blinked stupidly at the painting of an elegant, green-haired woman, which was at level with her face.

'I see you've met my mother,' she heard him chuckle.

'Your mother?'

'Hisui E. Fiore, the previous queen of Fiore,' he said as he stepped next to her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him give the painting a longing glance.

'Previous?' she asked quietly.

'She passed away when I was a child,' he sighed. 'Soon after her passing, my grandfather retired completely and gave the throne to my father. Now he lives somewhere away from Crocus and only comes to visit during the Grand Magic Games, where he's the mascot. At least he hasn't abandoned that role yet,' he chuckled wryly.

'I see,' she supplied uncomfortably, not knowing what she should say.

'I like you Miss Heartfilia.'

Sakura's eyes widened in alarm, whipping her head in his direction to see him looking at her with interest.

'You're the only one who didn't want to dance with me.' Before she could protest, he continued. 'Hiding in the toilet for two hours? You must've been really nervous.'

Sakura paled. 'Yeah, nervous. That.'

'To be honest, I'm not really a big fan of this dance either. Probably because it was my father's idea.' He took off his crown and ran a hand through his hair – now Sakura understood where the color came from. 'And I always get a little anxious on Friday the 13th.'

Sakura snorted. It was probably rude in the presence of a prince, but she already spoke with him more than any of those girls he danced with so far, so she really couldn't be bothered to care.

'You believe in such myths?'

'Not really. It's not that, I just… I guess…' he trailed off twice, his eyes finding the portrait of his mother once again. 'My mother died on Friday the 13th.'

Sakura's good mood vanished faster than it came.

She made sure to audibly clear her throat before she faced the prince with the tiniest smile of smiles.

'I'm really sorry about your mother,' she said politely. 'I won't keep you any longer. After all, you have _business_ to attend to.'

Making sure she wouldn't see his funny smile twitch _thingy_ she turned on her heel and walked back to the ballroom with long strides.

She opened the door just a little so she could press her body through without looking suspicious. However, as she closed it behind her while looking around, she realized it wouldn't have mattered, because the room was _empty_.

Throwing her gaze around again she rushed though the room, desperately trying to find _anybody_ as she finally registered the uneasy silence and the empty space that greeted her. Her eyes widened as a she felt her body go numb and the room started to spin. She stumbled over to the podium and grabbed its edge as she fell to her knees. She glanced up, and even though her dizziness made her vision blur and colors swirl, she could still make out a dark figure lazily sitting in the golden throne, and a pair of familiar yellow cat-like eyes staring her down, before everything went black.

* * *

 **The quote is from chapter 12. I'm just too smart.**

 **I imagine Astrid's Molding magic stance works like Ed's alchemy from FMA, but without the sparks. Iron girl ain't need no sparks.**


	15. Chapter 15

_**City of Angels**_

 **"Sing me a symphony, one for the lost and in between."**

 **xXxXx**

Everyone would agree that two hours after his companion's disappearance Obi had every right to think something was up.

And he had to use the restroom as well. Two hours of actively avoiding communication with other guests by drinking – or eating – uncomfortably filled up his bladder.

Exiting the room, he spotted a butler leaning against the wall in a rather painful position with his head hung low and legs bent, and made his way over to interrogate him about a toilet's location. As he stepped up next to him, he heard the unmistakable sounds of snoring coming from him. He bent down and waved his hand in front of his face a few times but received no response.

Coming back up, he let out an irritated sigh before walking through the corridor. He silently cheered as he found the searched signs on the doors at the end and hurried inside the men's room.

He took his time (not wanting to go back and socialize), then a few minutes later he heard someone come in but didn't turn to look (still not wanting to socialize). He left the restroom soon after that and was about to return to the ballroom when he remembered he needed to look for Sakura.

Subtly glancing at the butler's sleeping form, he opened the door to the women's room. Every stall was unlocked and unoccupied, which meant Sakura already left, or wasn't there to begin with. Maybe they just missed each other. He walked out and closed the door after himself distractedly.

'You came with Miss Sakura Heartfilia, right?'

Obi whipped his head in the voice's direction to see the other guy – _the prince!_ – leave the men's room.

Once long ago, after rethinking his relatively short life, he established his luck was really just _shit_. Which, right now, was proved to be right again.

He swallowed the cheeky reply that was on the tip of his tongue and answered with a simple, 'Yes, I did.'

'What's your name?' asked the prince as he stepped closer with a politely small smile.

Obi resisted the urge to raise an eyebrow in question. 'My name is Obi, sir.'

The prince, however, did raise an eyebrow. 'Just Obi?'

'Just Obi.'

' … I see.' He cleared his throat, suddenly looking a tiny bit flustered. 'Miss Heartfilia returned to the ballroom when I came to the restroom, so she should be back there.'

'Alright, thank you,' said Obi as he turned on his heel, took one step, then stopped.

'Is something wrong?' he heard the prince ask.

'The butler's gone,' muttered Obi, keeping his gaze glued to the previously occupied spot. 'Is it always this quiet in the palace?'

'Huh? Uh... Actually, no.'

'Come with me and stay close,' ordered Obi before he started to sprint back to the ballroom.

The door banged open as he practically flew inside before coming to a halt in the middle of the dance floor. The absence of music and people in this huge place created an uneasy emptiness he only remembered feeling in his childhood.

Without a bigger crowd to take his attention away, he inspected every detail of the room. Standing under the crystal chandeliers he glanced out every window that were partially hidden by midnight blue satin drapes. The cringe worthy perfection of the white marble statues standing on the sparkling clean marble floor almost caused him to throw up, but thankfully that was the moment the prince arrived.

'Is this part of tonight's plan?' quipped Obi.

His telltale baffled silence was enough of an answer.

'What's going on?' asked the prince a few moments later, his tone hard and guarded.

'Let's find out,' replied Obi, then darted out the room and down a couple flight of stairs, all the while hearing the prince follow him closely.

If the prince noticed how quickly he was able to find an exit, he didn't mention it.

The butler who he'd caught missing not too long ago was standing in front of the door, his body language showing panic, and as soon as he saw them, he turned his head towards the front yard.

'Oh, thank God! Please, you have to help them!'

'What happened?' demanded the prince in the same tone as before.

'I don't know what happened, one minute everything was fine and then... Please, just help them! They're this way!' said the butler before he abruptly shot off in the direction he was facing.

He guided them to where a huge crowd was gathered by a big fountain in the front yard. Running closer, Obi examined the people's clothing and their faces, recognizing them as the guests who were in the ballroom just a few minutes ago.

 _How did they get down here so fast?_

Glancing up at the fountain, he saw the king standing on the edge, the castle guards on the ground around him. Their posture was rigid, as stiff as a board, and unmoving. So were the guests'.

 _Why did they come here?_

The crowd was also bigger. Among the ball gowns, there were ripped and missing parts of clothing. Some people had shirts with shorter sleeves that revealed a horsehead shaped mark on their arms, while some others were shirtless and had them on their chest, back or waist. They were all Mystic Mustang members.

 _So it has begun..._

Obi knew he had a good reason to accompany Sakura.

'What in the...?' murmured the prince as they walked into the crowd. He followed Obi's gaze and his eyes became impossibly wide. 'Father? A-And are those... Those are really... But why?'

Obi hummed in question, taking in the prince's disturbed expression.

'The guards are holding– We don't...'

Obi's eyes fell on their weapons. 'You don't use guns?'

'No. Our soldiers are trained swordsmen. We don't need them.'

 _Arcadios was a monster, and facing an army of him is a terrifying thought on its own_ , thought Obi with a small wince.

'Well anyways, these people look like they were hypnotized or brainwashed. What do you suggest we should do, Your Highness?'

The young heir averted his gaze from his father's cold eyes and stared at the ground in thought. He didn't seem to be handling the situation too well, and Obi realized he wouldn't get a reply in the near future.

* * *

Tense silence followed the newcomer's question, the Fairy Tail members were busy staring at him in awe and apprehension as they sensed the incredible magic power radiating off him. From the corner of his eye Karma saw that Corban was shaking like a leaf as he hid behind Ryū's legs, similar to Souzan. Except she didn't have the same luxury of having a hiding spot, so she tried to curl into the wall, hoping to disappear.

'It can't be that bad,' muttered the boy, and everyone's attention snapped back to him in alert.

'Trust me on this one, it is pretty bad,' quipped Karma.

'I guess it can't be helped, then,' he said, shrugging.

'Who the hell are you?' asked Ryū lowly.

'The name's Daichi. What about you?'

'What's your goal?' demanded Jellal, and Daichi blinked at him curiously.

'Why did you ignore my question?'

'Why should we tell you who we are?' asked Astrid with a glower.

'Because that's the polite thing to do?'

'Oh, so you're polite. Sorry, I couldn't tell that from the way you just busted down a wall, which almost crushed my friend,' came Karma's snide remark. 'Without saying hello, by the way.'

'I never said _I_ was polite,' said Daichi.

'Neither did we.'

In that moment Jellal swung at him with his fist cocked back. Daichi leaned away in the last second, causing Jellal to miss his target by little more than an inch. Daichi jumped away from him, in front of Souzan, who let out a squawk as he landed.

'I see,' he smiled in understanding. 'The boss was expecting you to turn up, you know. We did attack your members. Sorry about that.'

'"Sorry about that"?!' yelled Ryū incredulously.

Daichi simply shrugged. 'Those two did that on their own accord. However, we did want to tell you we got your message.'

'What message?' murmured Astrid as her eyes narrowed.

'You'll see. The boss asked me to prepare an answer, you know,' he said cryptically as his lips curled into a wide smile.

'Where's Dina?' demanded Ryū angrily.

Daichi studied him silently for a few seconds, before turning back to Jellal. 'You just started a fight, but you intend to win, right? You want to defeat me so I'll get out of your way. Humans are simple creatures that way. I don't mind, though. Not that I could, but…' he trailed off, shrugging.

'Isn't that what you would want?' asked Karma, but the real question he wanted an answer to was _Aren't you human, too?_

Going by the way his purple eyes lit up in delight, it seemed like Daichi knew that, too. 'I suppose you can say I think differently than most.'

'I want you tell me the location of the girl,' broke in Jellal with a stern gaze that Karma knew well. In his mind, it was always followed by _any case, your argument is invalid_.

'Hmm. I see. Alright,' uttered Daichi as he walked closer to the wall on their left. Since he didn't give any information – or declined any, for that matter – Castiel decided to speak up.

'If the guild was disbanded, why are you here?' he asked, flicking his gaze over to Souzan.

Noticing the motion, Daichi turned around and met the terrified woman's eyes. 'Yo, Souzan! I didn't know you were still here. I thought you were safe at home. Such a shame.'

Karma quirked one eyebrow. 'Shame?'

Daichi raised his arm towards the entrance of the room. The others looked at him warily, eyes slowly widening as they sensed his magic power suddenly surge up then calm again. Ryū was the first who heard the quiet rumble, which soon turned into a thundering sound as they felt the earth shake beneath their feet.

'The guild has many underground passageways you don't know about,' said Daichi.

'What did you do?' growled Ryū.

'I destroyed one brick from all of them.'

They all stared at him, not quiet understanding the threat they knew he just gave them, before Karma's eyes widened again. _The runes!_

'Are you trying to kill us all?!' he yelled, ignoring the stunned looks from the others.

Daichi put his palm on the wall he walked over to, destroying it just like he did with the other one, then turned back to face them. 'If you want to save her, she's down that way. That is, if you can find her before these tunnels collapse.'

Panic started to set in as they snapped out of their stupor, only blinking once but by then Daichi was gone. Jellal took the lead when they started to run down the stairs, but Karma stood frozen as his brother tried to shake him out of it. After a few shakes he started blinking slowly, and Castiel took that as a sign he was alive enough to grab him by the hand and drag him down after the others.

Karma was still unable to clearly process what was happening around him. For some unsettling reason Daichi chose Karma to become the bearer of his telepathic message, and the redhead used up every second he had before everything collapsed around him to overanalyze it.

He eventually came to the conclusion that _everything_ was, indeed, about to collapse.

The message?

" _The Dragon Slayer, the Devil Slayer, the Heartfilia woman and Titania. Your move is understood. Prepare, Fairy Tail."_

But that wasn't all.

* * *

Obi glanced at the king again, and his brows knitted together at the sight of a short boy in a red dress shirt standing next to him with an easy smile. _Where did he come from?_

The king started speaking– eh, yelling.

'The traitors of this kingdom will receive their rightful punishment!'

'What is he talking about?' whispered the prince, eyes wide with fear.

'He's hypnotized,' replied Obi with a small nod of certainty, and that sort of explained everything.

'For murdering my only son and heir, I hereby declare all of you to be executed!'

The prince bolted from Obi's side and pushed himself to the front of the crowd. Obi stared after him, surprised by his bravery and stupidity. _That royal idiot!_

'Father! Stop this, I'm alive! I'm right here!' yelled the prince, flailing his arm around. Obi had a bad feeling about the way the short boy's gaze flickered towards him.

'You filthy impostor!' roared the king, pointing at his dumbstruck son. 'How dare you? End him!'

'Father–'

 _Boom!_

Obi could only watch, his feet glued to their spot as the prince dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes.

'You all deserve the same fate!' continued the king as he spread his arms wide.

As the guards prepared their weapons and the Mystic Mustang mages' hands lit up with fire, it dawned on Obi that this might've been the last signal that turned everything into complete and utter chaos.

It was way worse than that.

All he could hear were the rapid gunshots echoing around the yard until the victims' screams bled through the noise as their will returned. All he could feel were the heat of the flames and force of the desperate shoves people were giving each other in order to flee, to run far away. The raw animalistic instinct to _survive_ caused a horrifying scene to unfold.

The frustrating helplessness in the air was thick and crept into his soul, as though he was a prey about to be caught. Obi knew this feeling of dread like the back of his hand but it never ceased to squeeze his heart in anguish, although his awareness was enough to stop his mind from slipping into a frenzy and end up like the wild crowd around him.

He frantically shifted his gaze, watching bodies fall, get stomped on, thrashed around, and just for a moment he caught a glimpse of the butler's form behind the crowd. It was the first time he saw his entire face, but it struck him odd how young he was, and the piercing yellow eyes peeking out from under his dark blonde bangs were extremely familiar.

Somebody slammed against his back and he stumbled over the corpse of a woman. Her ball gown was green but torn, her hair shiny but bloody, her face pretty but lifeless, and Obi felt like throwing up again. Glancing up, he saw the butler running from the scene and started after him, pushing everyone out of the way equally as desperate as the others, only for a different reason. He darted into the night streets of Crocus, ears ringing from the shots and the shrieks. However, they didn't reach the quietly resting city, the residents were unaware of the bloody massacre happening in the castle yard.

Good for them.

The butler turned a corner and Obi was about to follow, but the boy from the king's side earlier appeared out of thin air in front of him, holding an arm out towards Obi as if to say _stop_.

'What's your objective?' he demanded right away.

The boy slowly lowered his hand. 'You're not very polite either, I see. You didn't even ask for my name.'

'I don't give a rat's ass about your name,' Obi ground out. 'It's enough that I know who you're working for. Now I want to know what your aim is.'

The boy smiled. 'It's been years since I met interesting people like you and those Fairy Tail members. Anyways, our goal is something I can't disclose, for obvious reasons. What I _can_ tell you is that we did have to speed things up a little,' he shrugged. 'And my name is Daichi.'

Obi's face contorted into a fierce scowl as he lunged at the blonde, who jumped back swiftly.

'Getting impatient, are we?' he jested. 'If you're going to fight me you need to know one thing: I won't lose.'

Obi was determined to prove him wrong.

Daichi blocked his first punch then evaded the kick he followed with, but otherwise made no move to attack. Obi knew he was just waiting for him to step into his trap somehow but his stupidly righteous side was angered by his nonchalance towards tonight's events, meaning he refused to think about the complications unless his rage-fueled attacks were hitting their mark.

He ducked low and swung his feet to trip Daichi, but the boy jumped up easily as if playing a simple game of jump rope, before kicking Obi square in the face. The force of it sent him slamming against the ground, creating a crater of his form in the concrete. His back ached along with his lungs as the wind got knocked out of him.

He let out a short cough as he stood to see the boy staring ahead, his hands in his pockets. His whole face lit up when he saw Obi getting up.

'Does your face hurt?' he asked with a smile, and Obi found himself smirking back.

'Yours will.'

And so he delivered two punches to the boy's face, who flinched back a few steps. Obi let out a frustrated growl, seeing he caused little to no damage, while Daichi wiped his mouth but the glint in his eyes alone unnerved Obi.

Daichi decided to pay it back, giving Obi's profile a good beating. His attacks were stronger and faster and it was a pure miracle that kept Obi's teeth in his mouth.

He staggered forward and stopped right in front of Daichi, who watched him with interest, awaiting his next move. Obi promptly bashed his head against his, and the force of it made him stumble back as he held his head in his hands, while Daichi's back connected with the road.

'I think I just learned the second definition of what it means to be hard-headed,' he commented as he rose back up, eyeing Obi whose face twisted into a frown of pain.

'Just what are you?' ground out Obi.

'What are _you_? I've never met anyone crazy enough to bang their head against mine with so much force, and I've been around for a while.' Daichi gave a surprised _oh_. 'Wait, I have.'

The words died in Obi's throat at the scrutinizing stare Daichi gave him. He didn't dare to move, especially when the blonde's lips curled into a small, knowing smile.

'I get it. It sort of makes sense,' he said to himself, and Obi felt the need to catch up with his train of thought (not that he could).

The sudden sound of screams startled him. Looking over his shoulder he noticed some people running down the streets, and he recognized them as part of the crowd he escaped from earlier. Immediately lights got turned on in the neighboring houses and the locals came out to check the commotion, and Obi's blood ran cold.

' _Ara ara_. We better finish this,' he heard Daichi say before he felt his fist met his jaw, knocking him back.

He received many blows to his abdomen, and he tried to get a glimpse of his moves if not to counterattack than to just protect himself, but all he saw were blurs of colors. He didn't know if it was because of how messed up his head was or solely because the kid was ridiculously fast. His attacks landed almost simultaneously and everywhere and Obi just couldn't keep up, not even with his eyes.

Eventually the screams dulled and the lights disappeared as a sharp pain at his neck introduced him to unconsciousness.

* * *

Dina was really scared.

Those men hurt Andrew and took her away from her daddy, and she was scared she would never see them again, and she was scared they would hurt her, too.

She couldn't remember much after she was taken, she cried too much and her head was hurting. But she knew they brought her to a dirty room and locked her in with someone else, a nice blonde lady with kind brown eyes who made her feel less scared.

'Hey, don't cry, sweetie,' she cooed. 'You're okay. It's going to be okay.' She wiped the child's tears away, her gentle gaze soothing. 'What's your name, sweetie?'

'D-Dina,' she hiccupped.

'You have a pretty name, Dina.'

'Your h-hair is pretty,' said Dina as she kept scrubbing her eyes.

'Thank you, so is yours. Can I braid your hair?' Dina nodded and shakily pulled out her hair ties.

The nice blonde lady with kind brown eyes told her stories about the stars as she braided her hair, and asked her opinion about fairies and if they had tails. Dina said she didn't know, and she told her that she loved fairies too, because there was a boy with a fairy tattoo who saved her daddy and brought her a flower, and she knew he would come to save her, too.

Dina was afraid she said something bad because the lady started crying.

'You did nothing bad, sweetheart.'

'Your tattoo is just like his! Do you know him?' asked Dina, and the lady chuckled at the excited twinkle in her eyes.

'Yes, I do.'

'He's pretty cool, isn't he?'

'Do you like him?' the lady asked playfully, and the little girl went pink.

'He's very brave! I want to be that brave too, so I can stand up for my daddy!'

The lady's gaze softened. 'Oh, Dina. You shouldn't have to stand up for him. He's an adult.'

'But I love my daddy.'

'I'm sure he loves you too.'

'He does,' she nodded quickly. 'He tells me every day.'

'That's good,' the lady whispered, turning her attention back to her hair, unaware that the little girl saw a few tears fall despite her otherwise positive demeanor.

Dina couldn't tell how much time they spent in that room, but sometimes two men would come and take the lady away. She always came back without any injuries, but her smile became smaller and her eyes became duller every time, and she didn't talk about fairies and stars anymore and Dina was starting to miss her stories.

'Are you okay?' she asked her one day.

Slightly shaking her head, the lady breathed out a shaky laugh. 'Everything is going to be okay, sweetheart.'

Then, instead of continuing with her stories, she began to sing. Dina enjoyed listening to her songs, the lady had a beautiful voice. It reminded her of her mama and the lullabies she used to sing to her when she tucked her in for bed.

Before she went grocery shopping and never came back.

" _Would you like something from the store, sweetie?"_

'It's going to be alright, sweetie.'

The lady noticed her sniffing, and Dina heard in her voice that she was concerned. She hadn't cried since they brought her here, unlike the kind lady, who she tried to be strong for. She really did, but remembering her mama always made her sad, and she reminded her so much of her mama.

'Are you a mama?' she asked between hiccups, scrubbing her eyes with her sleeves to stop the flow of tears.

'Huh?' the lady inhaled sharply, before exhaling shakily. 'Yes, I am.'

'Do you miss your family?'

'Of course, I do,' she whispered, her arms coming around Dina's small frame to envelope her in a gentle hug. 'Just like you miss yours.'

'I miss them so much,' sobbed Dina into her chest as she clung onto her, her knuckles turning white form how hard she was gripping the lady's shirt in her tiny fists.

'I know, sweetheart. I know.'

They sat there, searching for comfort in each other's arms, until the ground started shaking. Dina's grip on the lady's tightened and her breath hitched in fear. The lady held her closer in response, lifting the child protectively in her arms as she slowly stood on unsteady legs.

'What's happening?' whimpered Dina.

'I don't know, Dina, but we're going to be okay, I promise,' she smiled. It was small and sad but Dina found it to be nicely soothing.

The sounds of multiple pairs of footsteps caught their attention as they crashed through the thunderous rumbling, and Dina felt the lady freeze and exhale painfully when they stopped after their door slammed open. She turned hear head from where it was hidden at the lady's neck to see five people plus one kitty gaping, but her gaze locked on the blonde boy with the fairy tattoo.

'You came!' she exclaimed joyfully before she turned back to the lady. 'He came! I told you he would come!'

The nice blonde lady's kind brown eyes were overflowing with tears and her breathing became uneven as her hand came up to her mouth in disbelief. Dina was concerned, so she tried to look for an answer from the strangers, but they all had the same expression and she didn't understand.

The man with the blue hair and strange tattoo whispered, 'Lucy?'

The blonde boy took an eager step forward, staring into the lady's – _Lucy's?_ – kind brown eyes. 'Mom?'

Dina held onto Lucy's shaking body as a muffled sob escaped her. She tore her hand away from her mouth and her arm came around the boy's neck tightly when she ran over to him. Dina was trapped between them, but strangely she felt safe so she didn't mind.

'You're okay,' breathed Lucy between sobs. 'Thank Mavis, you're okay.'

'Why wouldn't I be?' the boy chuckled weakly.

Lucy pulled away with a gulp, and the blue-haired man jerkily blinked. 'We need to get out of here!' he said urgently.

'What about Souzan and that man?' asked the black-haired girl quietly.

'They've probably escaped already,' replied one redhead, while the other nodded in agreement.

'Let's go then,' said the blue-haired man.

Lucy nodded and broke into a run after the others, but Dina let out a surprised squeak when Lucy's legs gave out and they collapsed to the floor. The blonde boy helped them up and let Lucy lean on him.

The white kitty grew wings and flew on Lucy's shoulder. 'I'll take care of her.'

The boy was about to protest until Lucy carefully handed Dina over to him. He nodded slightly and readjusted her in his arms, while the flying kitty lifted Lucy up, and they quickly caught up to the others.

* * *

Pain welcomed Obi as he slipped into consciousness. His body was sore all over, even the smallest movement stung, such as the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed. His mind slowly kicked into gear and he briefly remembered losing a fight, which explained the pain.

He felt a warm touch on his forehead, and ignoring the protest of his heavy eyelids, he opened his eyes. It took some time for his vision to come into focus, but when it did, he was surprised to find Sakura sitting next to him.

'Sak–' he cut himself off with a hiss, feeling a sharp pain on his forehead.

'Did that hurt?' asked Sakura mockingly. 'Good.'

Obi grimaced at the feeling of her cleaning a cut on his left eyebrow. 'What's your problem?' he rasped out.

'You were practically dead by the time I dragged your sorry ass up here,' she said with a vicious frown, and Obi's gaze shifted to observe the room they were in, which was their guest room in the castle, he realized.

'He got me that bad, huh?'

Her frown deepened. 'You didn't even flinch the last time I fixed your wounds.'

'You mean the first time?'

'Yes, that's what I meant,' she sighed. 'And I have a feeling this won't be the last, either.'

Obi hummed. 'It's not like I want to end up like this.'

'Are you sure?' she asked sharply.

Ah, he sometimes asked that from himself, too. That didn't mean he knew the answer, which the heavy silence, following her last question, reflected.

Obi studied her as she worked, his brain sluggishly trying to make sense of things. None of them said a word and the silence dragged on, during which Obi realized what she really implied when she said she dragged him here.

Startling Sakura, he lifted one arm to her brows, gritting his teeth at the pain, and smoothed her frown with his fingers.

'Have you seen it?' he asked in a quiet whisper, and he got the answer when he saw Sakura's eyes become glassy before she averted her gaze.

She caught his wrist in her hand and laid his arm in her lap, picking up a gauze roll from the nightstand. She began wrapping it around the bruise, and Obi stared at the high ceiling, not knowing what to say. He felt a small drop of something cold, and his neck hurt from how fast he whipped his head around to look at her, eyeing the way she dabbed at her eyes with her wrist.

'Sorry,' she said, waving him off with her other hand.

Obi's gaze never left her form. 'Thanks for getting the suit off me. You should change, too. That dress is hideous.'

She let a snort. 'I know, right?' she asked with a watery smile that soon turned into full blown laughter, which turned into broken sobs.

'How could somebody do something like this?' she hiccupped. 'Why would anybody do this? How cruel can humankind get?'

Once again, Obi couldn't give her an answer. He took her hand in his and gave her a small squeeze. He didn't think it was enough to reassure her, and it probably didn't. It was a way to show her he was there, that he saw what she saw, and that it was going to get better, eventually.

'The prince is alive, you know,' uttered Sakura a few minutes later.

'He's a fighter, huh?' muttered Obi. 'That's good. The country is going to need a strong leader like him after today.'

Sakura hummed in agreement, sniffling. 'I'm going to explain everything to him in the morning. I just hope he won't banish me for lying or something.'

Obi allowed a snort to escape him and Sakura looked at him strangely, but he shook his head, telling her, 'It's nothing.'

The following days were agonizingly painful for an entire grieving nation. They grieved their lost loved ones, along with the people who had to live through the catastrophe. They grieved the king who they suddenly and seemingly lost to insanity before they lost him to suicide. They grieved the prince who miraculously survived and was forced to right his father's wrongs by becoming the next ruler.

And finally, they grieved the loss of peace they fought for so passionately just two decades ago.

* * *

 **A/N: The butler did it. The butler always does it. (Or maybe not exactly?)**

 ***le me writing dis chap* Don't mind me I'm just gonna sit in this dark corner and live out my existential crisis through fanfiction.  
**

 **The quote is from the song City of Angels by Arrows To Athens.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Author's Note: I'm behind schedule because I've been suffering through exams and other wonderfully time-consuming things. I wish you happy holidays with this chapter, even though it isn't too happy or festive or whatever.  
**

 ** _I don't own Fairy Tail_ because I wouldn't have time for it.**

* * *

 _ **Tell me**_

" **Words are the source of misunderstandings."**

 **xXxXx**

The Fairy Tail guild – for once – was deadly quiet.

Since there wasn't a specific time the gates closed, many members often overstayed and overslept. It was an urban legend in Magnolia that nighttime Fairy Tail was even worse than daytime Fairy Tail, which was unambiguous but still debatable.

Laxus wanted to enjoy it, but the mere thought of it left him appalled. Firstly, because he'd never thought he would live to see the day it happened – in fact, he was a firm believer that he wouldn't – and secondly, because he'd rather not have it happen at all if it cost him his guild members' dignity or well-being.

Glancing at the clock on the wall as it chimed midnight, he heard as Mira herded the remaining people outside and shut the gates loudly, sending an audible sign for Laxus – who stood over his desk with crossed arms upstairs in his office – that the coast was clear.

His gaze absentmindedly shifted to Lucy's stiff form as she flinched at the sudden noise. She was sitting in a chair that faced Laxus, wrapped in a worn green blanket that Mira fished out from a room full of unidentified crap. The reason why she didn't just take one from the infirmary was sort of a mystery for Laxus. Sort of because he knew Mira loved rummaging through all the garbage in that room, and she simply saw an opportunity and used it. One cunning She-Devil, that's what she was.

She was also kind and caring. The moment Jellal, flanked by four nosy teenagers and Corban, had rushed inside the guild with a weak looking Lucy, Mira's first question had been, 'When was the last time you've eaten?'

She'd replied with a tired smile and a shorter version of a long story that Laxus was dying to hear now, minutes later.

He immediately dismissed the others. Jellal looked at him hesitantly, one arm reaching up to his right forearm where his guild mark was located. One second later Ryū loudly declared that he was not leaving, and the others seemed to take his declaration as a permission and simply made themselves comfortable leaning against the wall in the background.

Laxus felt one corner of his lips curl upwards into a thin half-smile, part proud and part irritated. _I hope you're watching, Gramps_ , he thought with a powerful sense of satisfaction. _This is the guild you left me to deal with._ Then, he added ruefully, _Damn you._

'What happened, exactly?' he questioned.

His gaze slid over and found Ryū's, who fixed him with a glower as Lucy shifted uncomfortably next to him. Laxus didn't care. The boy still needed a long way to go before his glare even slightly matched Natsu's.

'We went out, just as planned,' said Lucy uneasily. 'We separated, just as planned. Then suddenly…it was over.'

'Which was unplanned, I'm guessing,' inserted Karma, earning a stern slap to the back of his head from Jellal. Castiel had his arm raised and wore a mask of carefully hidden disappointment, accepting his loss in the ongoing game between him and his dad, silently labeled "Who can hit Karma first for being an ass?" in which his record of four points in nineteen years did precisely nothing for his self-assurance.

However, Karma usually knew how to read the room, so this heavily ill-timed remark instantly caused unreserved worry to flare up in Laxus's chest before he mentally sealed it away in the back of his mind, in front of an already large pile of stuff he needed to check on later.

'What do you mean it was over?' he pressed, palms rested against the desk as he leaned forward.

'That's the thing,' answered Lucy quietly. 'I don't know.'

Laxus frowned. 'You don't know?'

'I don't know,' repeated Lucy. 'I remember that everything was going smoothly, except suddenly it wasn't. It's like time just skipped forward and I couldn't follow – I don't know how, but then it was over. I was locked up in a chamber, and they–' she abruptly cut herself off, gaze flickering over to his son's form. Laxus nodded in understanding.

He was about to act when Ryū said, 'No,' so calmly and so lowly that Laxus thought, _Screw the glare, this is Natsu's kid_.

He pinched the bridge of his nose, avoiding Lucy's pleading gaze. He sometimes wished Ryū was at least half as dim-witted as he showed himself to be. It would be much easier to deal with him then. Then, as memory of a seventeen-year-old Natsu flashed in his mind, he quickly realized it would actually be the opposite.

He let his arm drop with a sigh. 'And they what?'

Lucy turned to examine the floor to hide her defeated expression. 'They brought me to a room, where I… It was like they hypnotized me, o-or brainwashed me.' She shook her head. 'They gave me false memories, showed me the real ones, then showed me the false ones and I was confused and... I didn't know what was real anymore until I saw Ryū.'

It went unsaid, what that last sentence implied, and Ryū knew now. His mother believed he was dead. She probably lived through weeks of thinking everybody she loved was hurt or dead or _worse_.

'I still don't get it,' muttered Ryū. 'Why were you at the Mystic Mustang guild?'

'The job was to infiltrate the five known guilds that are part of the new Balam Alliance,' answered Laxus instead. 'This way we could've been able to get information about the sixth one.'

'That's ridiculously risky,' said Jellal with a cold stare. 'With those guilds' reputation you were practically sacrificing five of your best mages, no matter how powerful S-Class they are.'

The meaning of best mages coming from Jellal's mouth contained the hidden meaning of great friends and family members, while his eyes betrayed how pissed he was at Laxus for sending his wife into the lion's den.

'I'm well aware,' said Laxus, his tone calculated.

'And sending Natsu to infiltrate a guild? Really, Laxus? Natsu?'

'He, too, can take things seriously, you know,' said Laxus as he gave Jellal his best guild master warning glare. He only used it when someone questioned his authority, and when he caught his nephew and his little group planning another prank.

'I know,' Jellal glared back. 'But this was still too dangerous.'

'Yes, it was, but they would've been able to do it,' said Laxus, lost in thought. 'I didn't think they had a mage that could bend minds.'

'You made them dive headfirst into this while you didn't even think this through all the way!'

'How was I supposed to know?' Laxus ground out through gritted teeth.

Jellal didn't answer. He looked at the painting hanging on the wall behind the desk, and Laxus deemed the conversation finished.

'Do you know anything about the others?' he asked Lucy, who still had her head hung low. 'Did you find out anything about the last guild?'

'No, I haven't heard anything about them since we separated,' she said, clutching the hem of the blanket closer. 'The only thing I learned was that it has men in the other five guilds. It's not only in charge, it controls them. Lives off them.'

'I see,' he uttered a moment too late, and the silence became heavy before he spoke again. 'Alright, you should go home and rest,' he told Lucy, then to the others, 'The same goes for you, too.'

Slowly, almost reluctantly, they all stood and exited the room, except Karma. The redhead walked in front of the desk and looked Laxus right in the eyes. _How convenient_ , Laxus thought, _I guess we're going to talk now_.

Then he proceeded to tell him something interesting, which disturbed him greatly, but he still somewhat expected it.

'Dragon Slayer? Singular?' he asked afterwards. 'So they don't know about Gajeel?'

'Not yet, it seems,' said Karma as he put his hands in his pockets.

Laxus hummed, staring at him long and hard, but the kid took it with stride. 'Is that all?'

His posture stiffened just a little bit, his hesitation visible, before he uttered, 'Yes, that's all.'

When Karma opened the door to leave, Laxus saw Jellal staring at him, standing outside with Castiel, presumably waiting for his other son. His gaze was suspicious and disapproving and thankful at the same time, and Laxus felt the beginning of a headache starting to form.

He waited until they left before he descended the stairs to sit on his stool at the bar counter. Mira sat next to him, resting her pale hand on his shoulder. Above their heads, a lamp flickered in and out of life, and instead of grunting out a long string of incomprehensible curses like he usually would, Laxus merely exhaled loudly as he replaced "Interrogate Karma!" with "Look for a repairman!" in his mental things-to-do list.

'Would you like to go home?' asked Mira softly.

Instead of answering, Laxus said, 'I was expecting to hear more. I guess we did fail.' He murmured, thinking of Karma, 'But that wasn't all.'

'What are you going to do about it?'

'Ask for help,' decided Laxus.

* * *

It was twenty to three by the time Karma dropped face-first in his bed, physically exhausted and mentally drained. Insomnia was a real thing, though, and he was pretty sure he wouldn't be able to get any sleep tonight.

He'd come home with his dad and brother first, then promptly threw up in the living room before telling them he was going out for a walk. He had intentionally stretched it out as he'd slowly wandered the streets of Magnolia, staring up at the inky black sky and ignoring the chilly night air as it had bit into exposed parts of his skin. He'd wondered what his mother's reaction would've been if she had seen him puke all over her favorite carpet. She'd bought it two months ago from the Kingdom of Stella and it was supposed to glow in the dark or something. Not that it ever did. Not that, in Karma's opinion, carpets were supposed to do anything other than exist. Anyway, it won't do anything anymore at all, not after Karma had assaulted it with his stomach fluids.

He turned on his back, watching as lights entering through the window danced on the ceiling of his room. They proved to be much more boring than the actual stars, even though they did nothing more, nor less. Thankfully they didn't make him nauseous, either.

Without looking, he fumbled around for his compact communication lacrima on the nightstand beside his bed, then brought it to his face to search through the contacts. After selecting it, he moved to stand from his bed, but his knee got tangled in the sheets and he tumbled to the floor instead.

'Fuck,' he cursed silently.

'Watch your language, Little Red Riding Hood,' greeted him Jinora's voice with a flat tone and he froze, deciding the wooden floor was comfortable enough to lie on.

'Good morning, Princess,' he replied. 'I can't sleep.'

'I've noticed,' she quipped, but he couldn't detect any sort of jesting in her tone.

'Were _you_ sleeping?'

Karma heard her yawn. 'No, I wasn't.'

'Yes, you were.'

She sighed, 'Like every other normal human being, yes, I was sleeping.'

'Well. Sorry for waking you.'

'No, you're not.'

'No, I'm not.' Karma let out a breathy chuckle. 'Were you dreaming?'

'I don't remember,' she said, yawning.

'That's a shame.' He heard her hum over the lacrima. 'Your dreams are the weirdest ones I've ever heard.'

Jinora's dreams contained almost every book she ever came across: golden cities, sleeping kings, actual fairies, bloody wars, except they all came together in one huge story. They weren't even good stories, they were confusing and some parts of them often contradicted the other parts, and the ending was always tragic, no matter the fairytale components. Karma rather enjoyed listening to them. Jinora's brain processed things differently than most, and it was far too interesting to miss out on.

'How was your day?' she asked, her tone nonchalant, but Karma knew she meant _Is my sister okay?_ because she most likely did not wake up when Astrid returned home, and she didn't mean _Are you okay?_ because he wouldn't be calling her in the middle of the night if he was.

'Eventful,' he chose to say. 'But everything turned out fine.' _Little Dina is home safely and Lucy is home safely and your sister is probably home safely._

'I'm glad,' she said, and Karma knew it was just an automatic response.

He sat up with his back against the bed. 'We met this guy who put something in my head,' he admitted finally.

Karma counted exactly two seconds of silence before she spoke again. 'What do you mean?'

'He gave me a message, which I've already told the Master about, but there's something else, which I haven't told him about.'

'Use the actual words, Karma.'

He took a deep breath. 'Flashes, memories, I don't know what they are, but they're all about my mom getting tortured. Or dying. Or dying during torture.' He gulped, feeling sick again. 'What do you think they mean?'

She was silent for a minute. 'I haven't the slightest idea. Why don't you tell your dad or Cas–'

'I'm not telling anyone, especially them,' he cut her off strictly. Her mother was the most important woman in their lives, he couldn't imagine telling them. Mavis knows how badly they would take it. Mavis knows how badly _he_ had taken it, because he himself wasn't sure yet. That was the reason he called Jinora in the first place.

'Okay,' she said quietly. She didn't ask, _Why are you telling me, then?_ since the answer was obvious and hung heavily in the air, content with not being said out loud: _I don't have anyone else to tell._

'How do you think I should handle it?'

'What are you feeling?' came the immediate reply.

 _Anger. Fear. Disgust._ 'Nothi–'

'Liar, liar, pants on fire.'

Karma chuckled, this time louder and harsher. 'My pants aren't on fire.'

'I'll sick Sakura on you. Or Ryū. You can choose.'

'Thanks, but I don't want to,' he grinned.

'Then let go.'

His grin froze.

As If a dam was broken, the tears started freely spilling from his eyes. Sobs didn't come, but he struggled to inhale and exhale normally as another wave of nausea hit him. He simply listened to her soft murmurs as she recited her favorite story to him out of memory, knowing that this was her way of offering comfort and he greedily took it, letting himself selfishly drown in the sea of her soothing voice and even breathing as he held onto the lacrima like a lifeline.

'And they lived happily ever after,' she finished.

Karma raised his free arm to cover his eyes. 'That's such bullshit,' he spat out.

'Yeah, I mean they never show us what happens afterwards. That's the story I'm really curious about.'

'I think your dreams figure all that out for you,' he said, his lips curling into a small smile.

'Then I'd rather not know what happens after happily ever after,' she giggled.

'It's probably worse than your dreams, to be honest.'

'I really hope it isn't. That'd be just cruel for everybody.'

'Well, you'll never know. That's the point to it.'

'Damn.'

Karma laughed, and he heard her joining him a few moments later. They laughed, too long and too loud, hysterical even, but that was okay. This was okay. This required no thinking. This was banter, with Jinora, and the only thing he lived for nowadays.

This made him feel alive. This was what he needed.

'Thanks,' he said again, but it meant more this time.

'We can go to sleep now,' she replied. She didn't say it in an exasperated way like "We can go to sleep now," she said it calmly like "We can go to sleep now," like everything in the world was alright, like there was nothing else left to do other than to sleep.

'We can go to sleep now,' agreed Karma, even though he thought he wouldn't be able to.

He slept peacefully for the next five hours before Castiel dragged him to the guild.

* * *

Sakura had never seen a more intimidating corridor than the one she walking along.

Morning sunshine poured in through the large windows on her right, and the windowpanes cast daunting shadows over the floor and the walls. The paintings looked alive and hungry, accusing, and Sakura thought they had every right to be that way.

Everywhere she went, chaos followed. Sakura thought she'd fought this talent of hers off when she'd started completing jobs with her friends as a team, but she found out in these past few weeks that it was still in effect when she was alone.

And now, walking towards the prince's room with a blank-faced guard on her left, she felt the weight of it become heavier with every single step.

The prince was lying in bed, looking just as bad as Sakura felt. He still looked better than Obi, somehow.

'Good morning, Your Highness,' she said quietly, her hands clasped in front of her. She warily glanced over her shoulder at the guard who stayed in the room after the others left.

'I hope you don't mind,' he said, sensing her unease. 'My grandfather thinks my safety is the most important thing the kingdom has to focus on at the moment.'

Sakura whipped her head back to look at him. He looked almost ashamed as he stared at his sheets, not moving to look her in the eyes.

'You talked to your grandfather?' she asked softly, remembering their short conversation from yesterday.

He closed his eyes as he exhaled slowly. 'He came as soon as he heard. He was the one who told those reporters about me taking the throne earlier, too.'

'You don't want to?' she asked, genuinely curious, as she took a few slow steps towards his bed, not wanting to alarm the guard. Or the prince.

'I… I don't know,' he answered, his voice barely above a whisper. 'I'm not ready to fix this. My grandfather said he'd help, but… That's just not enough.'

Sakura understood. 'There are some things he can't help fixing,' she said.

The prince nodded. 'I want to know the reason why this happened.'

'Me too.'

He finally lifted his head and his gaze found hers. 'I trust you had nothing to do with this, Miss Dragneel.'

Sakura winced. 'Of course not.' She added hastily, 'And please just call me Sakura, otherwise I'm going to jump off the roof.'

The prince grimaced a smile, but Sakura saw no amusement in his eyes. 'I hope you won't. The royalty of this country has enough blood on their hands already.'

'I'm sorry,' she said, averting her gaze to the floor. She felt like a small child getting scolded by their parent.

'At least you now know what it feels like.' Sakura looked back at him, confused. 'My name is Valentine. It's a mouthful, but that's what I was assigned at birth, so please use it.'

Sakura blinked at him in disbelief. 'Alright, I will use it. Thank you.'

'You don't have to thank me anything,' said Valentine. 'You came all the way here from Fairy Tail to pretend to be someone you're not so you could figure this situation out.'

'Yeah, that went well,' said Sakura before blowing a strand of pink hair out of her face. 'And I was technically invited.'

'I'm pretty sure that was the enemy's work already.'

'Nice to know they care enough to invite me to deadly royal balls.'

'Maybe I'll send an invitation to your guild for a normal ball next time,' smiled Valentine. It was crooked and sad looking but it was a real smile.

Sakura made a face and shook her head. 'I don't think that would be such a good idea.'

She had heard stories about Fairy Tail attending fancy parties, and while they sounded more fun than the usual ones they had back at the guild, Sakura wanted to protect the freshly wounded kingdom from her rampant family.

Then Valentine unexpectedly asked, 'And would that be a good idea if you became my queen?'

Sakura became petrified, and she felt like her eyes would pop out if they got any wider. _Holy crap, retreat! Abort mission! What in the sweet hell–?_

'I-I'm not– I mean, that's a– But I–'

'Relax, Sakura! I'm just kidding,' he said, still smiling, so Sakura believed he really was joking. 'I'd rather find myself a king anyways, if you know what I mean.'

Sakura let out an unsuspicious breath in relief. 'I know you'll find one. I'll ask around in the guild, how about that?'

Valentine's smile grew flustered. 'Thanks. But I was actually wondering if that guy you came with–'

'Yeeeah, I don't think you want him.'

Valentine frowned, but his features were smooth again after a moment. 'Oh, I get it.'

'No, don't say that!' Sakura started. 'He just has a lot of baggage and I don't want to dump him on you.'

'I have quite a lot of baggage, especially after yesterday.'

'Exactly. You don't need more right now. And I don't really know if he's into guys, to be honest.'

Sakura suspected he wasn't, but she thought the same thing about the prince, so go figure.

'Did your father know about you…?' She flailed her arms around in a strange gesture, chuckling nervously. 'I know this is a really insensitive question, but the ball–'

'He didn't know, hence the ball,' said Valentine. 'I haven't told anyone else, yet. You are the only one who knows and…' he trailed off, craning his neck to look past Sakura at the guard who stood by the door.

'Travis,' he grunted, disinterested.

'And Travis.' Valentine waved at him with a hand, 'Thanks for keeping my secret, Travis.'

Travis replied with another grunt.

'I think I'm ready to tell others, though,' admitted Valentine. 'Last night opened up my eyes about some things.'

'I understand. I think,' said Sakura. 'I haven't even asked: How are you feeling?'

'I'm doing pretty well for a practically half-dead guy.'

Sakura smiled knowingly, 'But for a practically alive guy?'

'That's going to need a bit of work,' answered Valentine.

'Then I should let you rest. Thank you again.'

The corridor was way less discomfiting on the way back. Travis was still as mute and stoic as before, but even he seemed friendly when he nodded at Sakura as he left her at the door to her room.

The swelling purple bruise on Obi's cheek was the first thing she saw upon entering, and it did ruin her mood a little. It wasn't his fault. If anything, it was hers.

'You talked to the prince?' he asked.

'Yes. You were right. He's a fighter.' Sakura cracked a smile, 'And he has the hots for you.'

Obi blinked at her slowly before whispering, 'Dear God.'

She burst out laughing.

'That's unbelievably flattering,' he said, raising his voice to speak over her chortles. 'But no.'

'I told him as much,' said Sakura, still giggling. There was an odd glint in Obi's cat-like eyes as he watched her, and she was pretty sure it was because of how red her face has gotten from laughing like she hadn't laughed in a long while.

After she calmed down, he spoke again, 'You're having way too much fun with this.'

'Nah,' she replied with a flip of her hand. She looked him over once again, expression turning sullen. 'I'm sorry I couldn't do more about your wounds. My magic is a little messed up right now.'

Obi's eyebrows slipped closer to each other. 'You never said where you disappeared last night. Does that have to do anything with your magic?'

'I-I guess,' uttered Sakura, suddenly feeling skittish. 'I'm not really sure where I was. One moment I was upstairs in the empty ballroom, then waking up next to you on the sidewalk.' Obi's eyebrows slipped even closer. 'I have a weird memory of being in a small space somewhere alone before someone came, but it feels very fuzzy. I probably dreamt it.'

'Probably,' said Obi, his tone dripping with low-key tired sarcasm. Sakura shrugged, her hands coming up in a gesture that asked, _What were you expecting?_

'Then what happened to your magic power?'

'I was knocked out by magic, it couldn't have been anything else. I don't know what spell it was, but it probably messed up my powers a little.'

'Probably,' repeated Obi with the same tone of voice.

'Look,' snapped Sakura, 'I don't need you to believe me. Believe whatever you want.'

She stormed over to the tidily made bed where he was sitting and grabbed her suitcase. She knew she was being unreasonably in denial, but she didn't want that "dream" to be real. It stirred a terrible feeling inside her, even though she really couldn't recall it clearly. Even if it was real, the one thing she knew for sure is that she had been captured, but her captor had set her free, and it made absolutely no sense whatsoever.

'Come on,' said Sakura, heaving a sigh. 'We're going home, and you're coming to my house. No way in hell I'm going to let you live in the forest when you can barely stand.'

* * *

Green and gold tapestry surrounded the walls of the study Daichi stepped into. He was almost thankful that paintings upon paintings upon paintings covered most part of it, except those weren't any better either. They looked expensive, not beautiful, just like every other thing in this house did.

The space that wasn't covered by paintings was covered by small lamps, but they only gave as much light as one needed to see the "masterpieces" and the dents in the floor, so that they wouldn't trip over the latter constantly and so they could keep quiet about the former in front of the boss. While others collected stamps or rocks or rubber bands, he collected ugly ass paintings. _The rich have a strange taste_ , thought Daichi.

There was a green couch that looked chenille, but Daichi wasn't sure, because it didn't feel like chenille. There was a desk at the side of it that looked pinewood, but it didn't feel like pinewood. The chair at the desk looked leather, and it felt like leather, so Daichi was sure it was leather.

'Where the hell were you?' demanded a teen from the couch.

Daichi didn't answer, just looked at him. He knew it had the potential of making him angry, and for a millisecond Daichi wished he could remember what anger felt like.

'You don't feel like answering?' the boy scoffed, and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

'Not particularly,' replied Daichi. 'What's got your panties in a twist, Jasper?'

Jasper's yellow eyes flashed. 'You disappeared and I had to deal with him alone.'

'Oh, yeah. I was on my way back, but then I found a small shop and it had the biggest collection of rubber bands I've ever seen–'

'Of course,' muttered Jasper. 'You didn't come because you had to buy more of those.' He lifted his chin in the direction of Daichi's wrists, which were covered with his newest rubber bands.

Daichi raised his right hand to his face and started chewing on a pink one, while he picked at a white one with his other hand. 'I don't see the problem,' he muttered through the plastic between his teeth.

Jasper stood up, and Daichi just now realized he changed out of his butler costume. Daichi thought he had looked funny in it, and he had told him before that he should just wear it all the time. Jasper had only scoffed, just like he did a moment ago.

Now he was wearing his usual pair of purple trousers and a creamy-white hoodie, and he even put his black stud earrings back. He wore a dark blazer and formal shoes with pointed toes that always looked freshly polished. He had the air of a talented businessman around him, but his behavior proved otherwise. To Daichi, he looked like a teenager who was intentionally avoiding some kind of dress code.

Which was, basically, what he was.

The boss liked to have his men look shiny and proper, and Jasper was no exception, even though he tried to be. Daichi was, however. He was more of a weapon than a person in the man's eyes, and Daichi had no problems with that.

'The problem is that he's pissed,' hissed Jasper. 'I had to tell him the plan failed. The prince survived while the king killed himself. That's not how it was supposed to go.'

'I know.'

'You should've just stayed with the king and kept your control over his mind.'

'I thought his mind was weaker. Guess it wasn't,' shrugged Daichi.

'Try to explain that to him,' said Jasper. His eyes looked darker as his dark blonde bangs fell over them.

' _Ara ara_. I'm not the only one at fault here, you know,' said Daichi as he took a yellow rubber band from his wrist. 'The girl also escaped.' He stretched it out between his right thumb and his left, closing one eye and aiming at Jasper. 'Do you know anything about that?'

Jasper's jaw clenched, Daichi's thumb released the rubber band, and Jasper flinched as it hit him in the chest.

'She was with Obi,' said Jasper quietly as a clumsily unfinished form of explanation, but Daichi's attention was averted to the open door behind the couch.

'Oh? With Obito?' said the person who stood in the doorway. 'Now that's interesting.'

Jasper's eyes grew impossibly wide with panic as he spun to face the boss, a man in his fifties, who looked much better than a man in his fifties. He wore his razor-sharp smile like he wore his snow white suit; effortlessly and professionally.

As Daichi began to chew on a green rubber band, Jasper gulped, and the boss said, 'Tell me.'

* * *

 **The quote is from The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. (I LOVE THAT BOOK SO MUCH!)**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Sorry for disappearing, but I'm alive. I also know that the plot is basically non-existent at the moment and I'm sorry for that. I've already mentioned that this is my first attempt at writing a story, so I'm mostly just winging it. But I have plans to make the next "arc" a lot more meaningful.**

 **Here some original FT characters might be a bit OOC, I'm not sure. It's just that this is how I imagine them, since** _ **I don't own them or Fairy Tail**_ **.**

 **Quote and title are from the song Nothing's Impossible by Walking On Cars.**

* * *

 _ **Nothing's Impossible**_

 **"Hollywood's fantasy pulls you to your knees, and I think we've all got the dreamer's disease. Everything's magic or everything's stone, seven billion people but some are alone."**

 **xXxXx**

The sun barely hovered over the horizon by the time Sakura stepped into her home with Obi. The front door wasn't locked. She herded Obi into her room as quietly and carefully as possible to avoid the questions her siblings would ask her if they caught sight of her in that moment.

Obi hissed when she helped him on her bed.

'Is everything okay?' she asked quickly.

He gave her a slight nod, eyes roaming around her room.

'What do you think?' she humored him.

'It's very yellow.'

Sakura walked over to a cabinet, pulling out and pushing back drawers as she looked for her potions. They received a few from a doctor in the palace, but once Sakura had spent so much time with Porlyusica she'd developed a distrust to every medicine that wasn't hers.

'Maybe in the bathroom,' she mused quietly. She closed the cabinet and said, 'I'll be back in a moment, just stay here.'

Obi nodded and she carefully snuck out of the room, then into the bathroom down the hall. She was torn between turning everything over in order to hurry and looking around without making a sound.

She ended up taking her time. She found what she was looking for and happily ripped open the door to her room, freezing upon meeting her brother's gaze.

'Nee-chan, you're home.'

The way he said that indicated he was expecting her to come through that door, but his wide eyes betrayed his surprise over seeing her home. He stood in front of her closet with an arm outstretched towards the handle. Her guest was nowhere in sight.

 _Obi is smart_ , Sakura thought, _but he knows little about Dragon Slayers._

'Where were you?' asked Ryū, his right eyebrow rising in question.

'On a job,' answered Sakura, making her way over to her bed, then casually sat down.

'With who?'

'Alone.'

Ryū snorted. 'Of course. Then who's in the closet?'

Sakura glanced at his hand that still hovered over the handle, then back at his face. 'My plushies, Princess Ramona and Mister Cuddles.'

'They would have your scent.'

 _Of. Fucking. Course._

Ignoring her reaction, Ryū turned around to open the closet. Sakura didn't know what he expected, but he actually froze when he came face to face with Obi. They blinked at each other once, twice, then Obi's face broke into the fakest, most offensively cheerful grin she had ever seen.

'Hi.'

Ryū abruptly started walking towards the door. 'No, thank you.'

'Wait!' yelled Sakura as she jumped from her bed, grabbing his arm and pulling him back so suddenly he almost fell.

'What?' he asked, mimicking her panic.

'You have to promise me you won't tell anyone about him!'

However, instead of replying, he said, 'Since when do you keep your boyfriends in your closet?'

'He's not my boyfriend!'

'Then who is he?'

'His name is Obi.' Sakura's gaze shifted to her guest. 'I found him in the woods.'

Ryū nodded. 'You clearly have a problem with taking in strays.'

'Ryū, he's a _person_!' exclaimed Sakura, looking at her brother incredulously.

'Who lives in your closet!'

'He doesn't live in m–' Sakura cut herself off with a deep, calming inhale. 'Look, you can't tell anyone about this.'

'I'm not promising that!' he said, his voice cracking in exasperation.

'Ryū, please!'

' _Fine_ ,' exhaled Ryū hastily. 'I just wanted to tell you that Mom's back.'

Sakura went silent for a few seconds. 'Just Mom?'

Ryū looked away. 'Yeah, just Mom.' Then he was almost out the door when he added, 'Luna woke up, too.'

Sakura mutely watched as he exited her room, fiddling with the potion vial in her hands. She felt the bed shift beside her.

'That didn't work,' declared Obi.

Sakura closed her eyes, letting out a weak chuckle. 'You tried.'

'I've tried way too many things without actually succeeding.'

Sakura frowned, biting her tongue before she could've said _me too_ and slowly stood up. She felt Obi's eyes on her as she put the potion on the nightstand and walked over to the door.

'I'm sorry for leaving you alone again,' was all she said before leaving him alone again.

She decided to talk to her mom, to her sister, and was too distracted to notice the black cat darting into her room between her ankles before the door closed.

She found her mom in the kitchen, facing the open fridge with crossed arms. Her usually shining golden hair was colorless and frizzled, tied into a loose ponytail. Her pouch was absent from the belt around her hips. Her shoulders were bony, her skin was pale, which was even more noticeable with the gray top she was wearing. The cold light of the fridge lamp illuminated her form as if she was the focus of a picture made in black and white.

And it looked so immensely wrong.

Lucy Dragneel was always surrounded by colors and bright smiles. And her spirits. Along with her husband.

'Hey.'

Lucy jumped at least three feet high and whirled around to release a relieved breath as soon as she saw Sakura.

'Hey,' she uttered, rubbing her left arm. 'Luna told me you had gone on a job. How did it go?' _Did it go better than the previous one?_

Sakura shook her head slightly. _No, it didn't._

She wanted to ask how Lucy's job went, but bit down on her lip instead. The details were blurry, but the results were clear.

Lucy jerked her head towards the fridge with a blink, and closed it quickly. 'This thing is empty. Did you guys have anything to eat while we were away?'

'Of course. Ryū probably just ate everything again,' chuckled Sakura weakly. Her statement was technically true, though. Sakura wasn't home much, and Ryū only bought enough food for himself. And then some for Luna, too, she hoped.

Lucy's lips curled into a small smile. 'I remember that used to be a problem for me when I lived on my own and the others would often come over to raid my fridge.'

Sakura tried to bit her lip again, but wasn't fast enough. 'Especially Dad, right?'

Lucy stilled back into the statue Sakura scared to life a few moments ago.

'Where is he?' asked Sakura quietly, struggling to keep her voice from breaking. It was a question that shouldn't have been asked for the sanity of her mother, but was needed to be answered for the sanity of Sakura.

'I'm not sure,' replied Lucy, her smile turning sad. She looked up at her daughter, and Sakura was stunned to see her mother's calm expression.

Natsu and Lucy were a one package deal. They came in a pair. One wouldn't go anywhere without the other. Even imagining it was bizarre enough that Sakura would have laughed if someone told her it had happened.

But her mother just told her it had happened and Sakura was not laughing.

'You're not sure?' whispered Sakura, the tears beginning to sting. 'And that's okay?'

'No, it's not okay. Not even close to it,' muttered Lucy. 'Nothing is okay, and it will be a while before everything will be okay.'

Sakura gulped down her tears and hugged her mother. 'But it _will_ be okay,' she said, with much more certainty than she felt. She felt her nod against her shoulder.

'You probably want to see Luna, too,' said Lucy while pulling away. 'But she's resting, so let her be for now.'

* * *

It was the beginning of October and the weather was surprisingly cold. In the daytime it was enough to wear a jacket, but the nighttime required more complicated clothing, like hats and scarves and gloves that Jinora had inconveniently forgotten to pack. She had also chosen that day of all days to wear a skirt, which was something that only happened twice a year, so some male guildmates even celebrated it as a special event.

She had agreed to take a job with Gale and Barry, which she had regretted on the way there. They had departed before the sun even thought about rising, and the temperature was ridiculously low for an October night, so she had been both tired and cold during the entire mission.

So now, walking back to the guild through the town, she was grumbling about all this under her breath, making her brother crazy.

'I don't think it was that bad,' commented Gale. Jinora huffed.

'You're just too sensitive to the cold,' came the muffled agreement from Barry, who was currently residing in the pocket of Gale's fluffy coat.

'Easy for you to say,' replied Jinora as she hunched her shoulders up to her ears.

'Since you helped me a lot with this job, I could ask Mira to make something for you,' suggested Gale, leaning down a little to meet her eyes. Jinora refused to look at him. Gale smirked. 'A hot chocolate. My treat. How about that?'

Jinora quickly glanced at him, then said, 'With whipped cream.'

'And marshmallows?'

' _Mavis_ , yes, please!'

Gale opened the main gates with a laugh and Jinora hurried inside. The guild hall was buzzing with laughter and voices just as always, and it brought a tiny smile to Jinora's face. They walked over to the bar and Mira mirrored her expression, but her smile was a few scales bigger.

'Welcome back! Can I get you anything?' she chirped.

'Two hot chocolates with marshmallows and whipped cream,' said Gale.

Barry flew out of the pocket and landed on the counter with grin. 'And another one with sprinkles!'

Mira chuckled, 'Alright. They'll be ready in a minute!'

'You can't even drink an entire mug of hot chocolate,' said Gale as he scratched Barry behind his ears.

The small exceed huffed indignantly, 'I can, you'll see!'

Jinora heaved a tired sigh before dropping her head into her arms. Maybe she should just fall asleep here. The counter was a bit hard, but comfortable enough for a quick nap. She could use Gale's coat as a pillow. She could even use Barry as a pillow. He was a bit too small, though. The background noise didn't even bother her anymore, she was too used to it. She could sleep through it. Besides, it wasn't that loud anyway.

It wasn't that loud?

 _Wait a second–_

Jinora's head snapped up as she turned around to face the entrance.

The guild had gone discernibly quieter, and Jinora guessed the reason for that were the four men who strode across the hall and began to march up the stairs. Jinora quickly realized what the problem was with this picture.

The men wore dark leather clothes, with the number 4 painted on their backs. Bacchus Groh, along with three other Quatro Cerberus members, looked unsettlingly furious.

The guild became completely quiet at the two loud bangs of a door being opened and closed with unnecessary force, then everything went back to normal. The volume rose and the fights restarted, Jinora glanced at her brother and received a clueless shrug in response.

'Here you go,' said Angela as she handed them their drinks.

'Thanks,' Gale smiled before turning to Jinora. 'I'll see what Elise and Thalia are up to.'

Jinora cracked a rare smile. 'Try not to swoon when you see the latter, okay?'

Gale groaned before grabbing Barry and their mugs and making his way over to his friends. Jinora shook her head before taking a sip of her hot beverage, gaze sweeping over the room as she looked for a friend who had been unusually troubled last night. Early morning? She honestly didn't care.

She hopped off her stool as she spotted a mop of scarlet hair. This feature of his always made the search easier.

'I see you're using your evil powers to turn my sister over to your side,' Jinora quipped.

She immediately gained the attention of the three troublemakers and Malcon, who sat and watched Karma twist Astrid's arm backwards. Astrid let out a growl, while Karma smirked.

'What's the matter? You're giving up already?' he taunted. ' _You_ asked me to teach you how to fist fight.'

Astrid huffed and kicked her leg back to give him an undoubtedly painful bruise, but Karma stepped back and the girl fell face first to the floor with a yelp.

Jinora put her mug on the table and sat down next to the musketeers. 'You suck,' she concluded.

'Shut up,' replied Astrid as she stood up and promptly walked away.

Jinora knew her sister would come back, she just needed some time to tend to her broken pride. She glanced at the boys on her right to see Jessiel blab to Ronan and Malcon enthusiastically about something, and her suspicions were confirmed when she saw Percy tugging on the hem of his vest in silence.

'Don't worry, it'll be alright.'

'I've never seen Dad this angry before,' muttered Percy.

'He probably just didn't have enough rum in his morning coffee or something.'

Percy scoffed. Well, she wasn't good at this consoling thing anyways.

'Come on, dwarf,' said Seth as he appeared in front of them. 'We're saving Dad.'

 _Save?_ Jinora blinked. Where the hell did he come from?

'Oi! Who're you calling a dwarf?' snapped Percy as he jumped from his seat.

'My minion. His name is Percy,' he answered with an eye roll, which earned him another _oi_ from his brother.

'Why do you have to save Bacchus?' asked Jinora.

Seth inhaled deeply and Jinora already knew he was going to sigh before he actually did.

'Mom just stomped up the stairs with an empty bottle and a stack of cards,' he explained, jabbing his thumb in the direction of the next floor. 'Normally I'd let them have it out with each other, but now we're in public. Sort of.'

Jinora nodded as Seth grabbed Percy's collar and dragged him towards the stairs. Jinora turned her head after hearing Jessiel's obnoxious laugh – at probably something he said himself – and noticed her mug had magically teleported into Karma's hands.

She glowered at him possessively. _**My**_ _hot chocolate._

Karma slowly finished the sip he was taking and lowered the mug from his lips, revealing a suspiciously innocent smile.

'You put this down, leaving it without supervision, which means you've already accepted whatever happens to it.' He raised his hand, offering the drink to Jinora, saying, 'Besides, the mug is still half full.'

His gaze met Jinora's as she took _her_ hot chocolate from his hands. Karma's said _thanks for last night_ , while – after taking a peek inside the mug – Jinora's said _this is less than half_.

'I'm not in the mood for your idiocy today. I had, like, five hours of sleep.'

'I had, like, five hours of sleep,' echoed Karma, voice higher and mocking as he mimicked her. Jinora knew he only did that because he also slept no more than five hours, and she let her because he also slept no more than five hours.

'Where's Castiel? He's usually about 90% of your impulse control.'

'I'd bet he's off to la-la land,' drawled Karma, which caused Jinora to look at him strangely. 'With Nova,' he clarified sourly.

'Oh,' said Jinora. She had no desire to get involved, so she sipped her hot beverage quietly and waited for him to change the subject. She didn't need to wait for long.

Karma sat down in front of her, elbow propped on the table and his chin in his hand, and pushed her leg under the table with his.

Eyebrow quirked, Jinora asked, 'What's the big idea?'

'I'm starting to think you wear these socks so we can find you if you ever get lost,' he responded.

Jinora could feel her cheeks go pink. She didn't know what kind of socks she had chosen to wear this morning, she had been half-asleep and too grumpy to care. Like most of the time.

She glanced down and internally cringed at her knee-high bumblebee sock on her right leg. She leaned against the back of her chair to see her other sock, which reached just above her ankles and just above her boots. It was red with white polka-dots.

'That's exactly the reason why I'm wearing them,' said Jinora before taking a sip from her drink.

'Smart.'

'I know.' Sip.

'What do you think of today's weather forecast?' asked Karma, his fingers drumming a beat Jinora didn't recognize on the wooden tabletop.

Jinora met his gaze with caution. 'There'll be a storm sometime soon. The dogs have already started barking.'

Karma's eyes narrowed. 'Strange how they can sense these things faster than we can.'

'They just know.' Si– _Oh, it's empty._ 'Or they have proof.'

The drumming stopped.

Jinora stared at Karma, who seemed momentarily frozen. 'Are you alive?' she wondered.

Karma blinked. 'So that's how it is.'

Jinora opened her mouth and was about to ask Karma to elaborate when she heard Ronan's normally timid voice ring out loudly with worry.

'What's wrong, Percy?'

They snapped their heads in the boys' direction. Percy was standing in front of his friends with a fierce scowl on his face, arms crossed and feet tapping.

'Dad's crazy,' he snarled, and Ronan shrunk back in his seat at the tone.

'What happened, Percy?' questioned Karma.

'We entered the Master's office and everybody was yelling at everybody, so I didn't understand much, but I know what I heard. Seth basically threw me out as soon as he did. That asshole,' he grunted.

'What did you hear?' asked Malcon as he hovered above the boy's head.

'My dad said Gray had turned evil and fought his guild mates.'

'Evil?'

Jinora stared at Karma. He pronounced that word as if it sounded foreign to him, and Jinora understood how he felt. Saying that Gray has turned evil was like saying Natsu has turned evil. It was utter bullshit.

'What else did you hear?' demanded Jessiel eagerly.

'Some swear words I didn't even know existed,' answered Percy. 'And some stuff about a council and rules and some threats.'

Karma gave Jinora _The Look_ and Jinora returned it.

Good thing she finished her hot chocolate.

* * *

Obi obediently sat on Sakura's bed, the desire to look around her room was very little. He only caught sight of the black cat when it snuck into his line of sight.

'I didn't believe my senses at first, but it's really you, Obi boy,' the cat said, smirking. Obi recognized that smirk, that voice, those eyes, and he was not happy.

'What are you doing here?' he demanded, his voice completely monotone and clear of the shock he felt.

'I came to say hi,' answered Tao as he jumped on the bed beside him. 'So, hi!'

'For what reason?' asked Obi. 'Last time I saw your key it was getting shipped to another continent.'

'My new holder lives here. The sister of the girl this room belongs to, precisely. She's nice. Her dreams are a little strange, though.'

'Coincidence,' said Obi, because it wasn't. His eyes narrowed as he glanced at the spirit on his left.

'I assure you, I had no idea you would show up around here,' said Tao, feeling the boy's gaze on him. His voice had a sort of edge to it that only became visible if you held the reason behind it.

'Then why are you here?' asked Obi coolly. 'Aren't you supposed to be the one that wants no one so no one wants him?'

Tao gazed at him out of the corner of his eye. 'You did your research? How thoughtful of you.'

'I didn't want to see you again,' he paused, 'and I still don't.'

'I forgot how her grumpiness runs in the family,' retorted Tao with a theatrical eye roll.

Obi felt something heavy drop in his chest. His heart, perhaps. He asked again, 'Why are you here?'

Tao hummed semi indignantly. Obi didn't know if it was because he avoided his brazen comment or because he liked to play the offended. 'I'm trying to unwind some jumbled strings here.'

'What strings?'

The spirit turned his head. The stare he gave Obi was mysterious and ancient, knowing. Obi was surprised to find that he was afraid of the answer.

'The one Fairy Tail got themselves tangled in,' replied Tao. 'I reckon you don't want to help? You probably know more than I do.'

The word _traitor_ flashed in his mind. He wasn't sure who it was directed at, and something abruptly snapped in his chest. His heart, perhaps.

'Get out,' said Obi, clearly and sternly. Tao's gaze was skeptical: _Did you really expect a cat to listen?_

'Alright,' said Tao, his tone jumping over the syllables. He turned his head and gave Obi an unexpectedly scorching glare with his scorching red eyes. Then he added, 'By the way, this is way overdue,' and leapt at Obi's face.

Now, normally Obi wouldn't have a problem evading a cat attack. Also, normally most of his bones weren't cracked or broken, which was a big advantage if you wanted to evade a cat attack.

Tao quickly dragged his claws over Obi's face, scratching the scrub off his eyebrow and leaving three elongated angry red marks on his skin.

Obi hissed in pain, leaning away and holding a hand to his renewed wound.

Tao hissed back, lowly and threateningly, the fur on his back rising.

'Screw you, asshole,' he growled before jumping off the bed and running out the door.

Sakura returned only a few seconds after.

'Obi!' she exclaimed as she rushed to his side. 'What happened?'

'The cat attacked me.'

Obi watched as her forehead wrinkled into a slight frown. 'Beatrice? Why would she–'

'Not that one,' he grunted, cutting her off.

'We don't have any other cats,' she stated, prying his hand from his bleeding eyebrow. 'Except Corban and Happy, but they don't live here. Neither does Beatrice, actually.'

Obi stayed silent. He winced when she practically slapped a band aid on his forehead, then she handed him a potion, which he eyed warily. It had an unhealthy color.

'What?' asked Sakura, annoyed. 'It's not poison.'

'I know.' _Actually, I'm not sure._

'Do I have to shove it down your throat?'

Obi drank it in one swing.

Then he almost spit it back up.

'This one was worse than the others you've given me before,' he rasped out.

'Because your condition is also worse. What were you expecting? A smoothie?'

Obi shrugged. 'A shake would've been nice.'

'I can bring you some from the guild, if you'd like,' said Sakura.

'There is something I'd like.' Obi took a deep breath, then said, 'Teach me magic, please.'

Sakura stared at him with wide eyes, the only sound she made was, 'Eh?'

'I'd like to learn magic.'

Sakura's gaze hardened. 'Does it has to do anything with how I found you in the forest?'

'Revenge, you mean.' Sakura nodded. Obi shook his head, 'I only want to do what you did.'

'What do you mean?'

He averted his gaze, the desire to look around her room suddenly becoming bigger. 'I want to protect, not hurt.'

He didn't know what kind of reaction he was expecting. He supposed she could've thought he was lying, except he had no reason to.

He was observing a children's drawing on the wall behind Sakura, memories threatening to surface, when she finally spoke.

'Alright.'

Obi raised his eyes to see her expression.

Sakura was smiling, dimples showing and eyes crinkling, and Obi felt something flutter alive in his chest.

His heart, perhaps.

* * *

At first sight Sabertooth and Fairy Tail seemed like earth and sky, like water and fire, completely different. But anybody who had been inside the guild hall knows that's false.

'Who sends letters anymore? Jeez, he's like an old geezer. Which makes _me_ feel like an old geezer.' Sting paused. 'Am I an old geezer, Rogue?'

With a twitching eyebrow, Rogue asked, 'What are you even talking about at this point?'

'Er, right.'

True, Fairy Tail was one of a kind, but Sabertooth was as well, which, in Rogue's opinion, was mostly Sting's fault. They were partners and he loved the guy like a brother, but Sting was sometimes way too much like the man he once looked up to.

'Laxus sent me a letter,' said Sting. His expression became serious, his back straighter, and Rogue unconsciously mimicked the action. Sting became the guild master at once.

'What does it say?'

'He needs our help to take down the howlers.'

Rogue's eyes widened a fraction. 'Midnight Howl? That's sudden. What is he thinking? Did the council approve?'

Throwing a smirk in his direction, Sting shrugged, 'Probably not.'

He tossed the letter on the table on their right, and Rogue's eyes immediately began to breeze through the text before flickering back to the master's face.

'Sounds urgent.'

'Even though he sent a letter instead of calling,' drawled Sting.

'He must have had a good reason.'

Sting crossed his arms. 'That's what I'm afraid of.'

Rogue was, too. He looked at the door that separated their conversation from the prying ears in the guild hall. The sound of laughter crept through the walls and entered the room like an explosion, booming throughout the building and alerting everyone: _this is our home._

Rogue's gaze returned to his friend's form to see him staring at the same door, his blue eyes stormy and pensive.

'Who are you going to send?' asked Rogue, breaking the silence that contently settled between them.

Sting shut his eyes with a sigh, 'I don't know. I need more time to figure it out.' He then muttered, 'This is why you don't send letters like this.'

'I thought your problem was with letters in general.'

'My problem is with Laxus in general.'

Rogue nodded, turned around and headed for the door. 'I'll talk to Cole.'

Sting flinched, 'W-Wait! I haven't even decided–'

'I did,' cut in Rogue.

Sting groaned, 'You always put too much weight on that boy's shoulders.'

Rogue's hand stopped on the handle. His voice was hard as he replied, 'In that case, you don't put enough on Kiara's.'

Sting's flashing blue met Rogue's calm red, yet no words were exchanged. Parenting was a subject they preferred to avoid due to personal disagreements based on differing opinions. Yukino's intervention on Sting's side also played a rather big role in the subject. Rogue was raising his son alone, after all.

'If Cole's going, so is Kiara. I won't be able to stop her. But just so you know, I don't like this one bit.'

Rogue avoided Sting's cold stare by facing the door again. 'Fine by me.'

* * *

Cole felt like he had been trying to win his father's approval since his mother passed away. It wasn't that Rogue was hard to please, or that he disliked his son, Cole knew that. His mother's death simply affected the two of them differently.

He also knew that this job needed to be a five star success with a cherry on top. Mostly because, first, it was a very serious mission, which he had probably only earned the honor of completing because his father had demanded it. Second, the master trusted him – even though he clearly didn't want to – and third, this was the best possible way to impress his girlfriend – which was also the reason Master wasn't particularly fond of him at the moment.

(Also, Kiara was not easily impressed. He was sort of afraid of her making more progress than him. What would his father think, then?)

'Why the long face, Cole?' asked a soft voice on his right, bringing him back to the present. 'Are you afraid Kagemaru and I will beat you?'

'This is not a competition, Kiara,' deadpanned a deeper one from the front.

In the end, the master had decided at least one more person should go, and thus Kagemaru was chosen. Cole was glad, as Kagemaru was a powerful shadow mage and he got along with everyone. He was raised by the guild ever since he had walked in about ten years ago when he was only eight. His father, Kageyama, once part of the dark guild Eisenwald, had decided to travel around the world and told his son to go look for a place to stay or a guild to join. According to Kagemaru, he hadn't seen the man ever since.

Kagemaru had never seemed bothered by his parent's negligence, and fit in the guild rather well. He was calm and collected, a rational peacemaker and an excellent strategist.

'Are you okay?'

Cole turned to look at Kiara with a small smile, 'I'm fine. Just got lost in my thoughts again.'

With her eyebrows furrowed and lips turned down in a frown, Kiara's expression remained worried.

'Whatever happens, we'll get through this,' she said, lacing their fingers together.

Cole nodded, carefully stepping over a branch. They were almost at the meeting point, there was no turning back now.

Kagemaru appeared to realize this, as, with a flicker of amusement in his brown orbs, he turned his head to smirk at Cole.

'You better not get cold feet, because we're almost there.'

Cole was determined to return home victorious. If that happened, his father would praise him. The thought alone was enough to make him feel lightheaded, like nothing was impossible. The limit was only the blue of the sky.

'Wouldn't dream of it,' he smirked back.

Except he would, soon. Not that he knew that back then.


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Alright, here's the thing: I'm alive! I'm an alive, but busy and incredibly lazy human being.**

 **I wrote the entirety of this chapter months ago, except the scene where I introduce even more characters (I hope you can keep up). But now that the anime has come back I found myself back in the mood again, and decided to get off my ass and out of under the inhumanly large pile of schoolwork to finish this chapter.**

 **I hope you're happy. Or entertained at least. Btw I know this story is an all over the place mess, so I'm ridiculously grateful to everyone who's reading it.**

 **Oh, and happy Halloween!**

 **This is fanfiction. I barely own my OCs as it is.**

* * *

 ** _" This is not how you greet new people, Barry."_**

 **"That's what getting to know someone is about. Judging them."**

 **xXxXx**

'Eh? They left without me?'

Sakura couldn't believe her ears. She'd gone to the guild to have a talk with her teammates, only to find out they had left on a job an hour ago.

Mira gave her an apologetic smile, 'They were to leave as soon as possible. It's a mission Laxus personally assigned them, and you haven't been at the guild for two days, so they had to go without you.'

'I guess that make sense,' muttered Sakura sullenly. 'Do you know what kind of job it is?'

'No, but even If I knew, I wouldn't have the authority to tell you. That's the kind of job it is.'

Sakura sank back in her stool, staring at the cup Mira was cleaning. She understood that Mira knew perfectly well what kind of job it was, as she revealed its intention to be kept surrounded by secrecy.

'You also went on a mission by yourself, didn't you?' said Mira, focusing too intently on a cup she'd been cleaning for fifteen minutes, and since Sakura had been staring at it since, she could tell it was spotless even before she started scrubbing it.

'That's different.'

'How so?'

Sakura glared at the cup. 'You gave me that letter. I know you read it, so you should know.'

'I never told you to do something stupid like go alone.'

'I wasn't alone!' exclaimed Sakura angrily.

She only realized her mistake when Mira's hands stopped.

'You weren't?'

Sakura didn't answer. At that moment, voices floated over to them from a table a few seats over.

'I still can't believe it. Honestly, what are all those guards for if they can't even protect the royals?'

Sakura's eyes slowly widened. Her blood froze as she processed the topic of the conversation. She felt Mira's gaze boring a hole in her head, but she didn't dare to raise her eyes.

'Many people died, and they have a lot to fix. Not to mention, the prince is way too young to become a leader of a country.'

'You might never know. His grandfather definitely won't be taking the throne again, so we have to accept him.'

Mira's warning tone drowned the rest out, 'Sakura–'

Sakura stood up hastily, ignoring the barmaid's calls, and stomped out of the hall. She straight up bumped into Castiel at the gates, who tried to pry an apology out of her, but she wouldn't budge. Upon seeing her expression, Castiel quickly retreated into the guild.

He noticed his twin sitting on a bench in the corner with closed eyes and his hands behind his head.

'Things are never boring here, huh?' asked Castiel as he sat next to him.

Without opening an eye, Karma asked, 'Why? What happened?'

'Sakura's pissed.'

Karma laughed. It was a loud, hard laugh, consisting of only one sound and one syllable. It was a snarky _ha!_

'Sakura is always pissed,' he said eventually, quite unimpressed.

Castiel hummed in agreement.

* * *

Luna knew this room. Or at least the uncomfortable green couch, since that was the only thing she could see.

She didn't remember how she ended up here. She didn't know how she knew this peculiar piece of furniture, either. The whole predicament felt familiar.

So did the mutter coming from her left.

'This is a problem,' grumbled Calico. Her features were scrunched in a frown, and she looked to be deep in thought. She was wearing an elegant dark violet dress and her pale blue hair was in a tight bun on top of her head. Her long feather earrings reminded Luna of a cat toy.

'What's the matter?' asked Luna.

Calico's gaze focused on Luna's form, a slim brow slowly crawling up her forehead. 'Aren't you surprised to see me?'

'No,' said Luna, because she wasn't.

The other eyebrow joined the first. 'Alright,' Calico nodded, 'here's the thing. You have to be careful.'

'I'm always careful,' replied Luna instantly. She winced at seeing Calico's scowl.

'When did you become a liar?'

'Just now,' the young girl murmured.

Calico inhaled, 'Listen,' and exhaled. 'Trouble's brewing, and you have to look before you leap. _Unlike_ last time. Got it?'

'Got it,' Luna dutifully nodded. 'What's the trouble?'

Calico pressed her plum colored lips into a thin line, before turning to the couch and sitting on it. She gazed back at Luna and patted the seat next to her.

Luna sat down hesitantly, expecting the couch to at least bite her, but it didn't. It was just a normal chenille couch – was it chenille?

'I want you to be careful,' Calico spoke audibly, as if talking to a toddler. 'Your sister… I think she may have gotten herself into said brewing trouble.'

Luna's eyebrows knitted together in worry. 'My sister? What did she do?'

'She got close to someone I want you to be cautious around.'

That did not ease Luna' concerns. 'Should I tell her–'

'I don't think that would be a good idea,' said Calico, so quietly, that Luna almost didn't hear her. She scanned the woman's face, but couldn't read over her neutral expression.

She asked, 'So I just have to be careful? There's nothing I can do?'

Calico gave her no answer. She stared into the darkness surrounding them, the mysterious light source lighting up her pale features and illuminating her cheekbones. It created an oddly peaceful image, but completely otherworldly at the same time. That was the moment Luna truly realized, this woman did not belong to the world of the living.

She remembered a question she'd wanted to ask ever since Calico appeared. 'How come you're here again? You're not going to visit me in my dreams all the time, are you?'

At first, Calico showed no sign of acknowledging her, but after a few heartbeats, she said, 'It depends.'

Luna blinked in confusion. 'On what?'

'I don't know,' replied Calico, before her infinite charcoal gaze burned into Luna's. 'I'm not the one in control.'

A cold shiver crept down her spine, and Luna was too afraid to ask who was.

* * *

Obi was surprisingly eager to start learning magic. His wounds hadn't healed yet – there were even ones left from their very first meeting – and he was already working hard. Sakura wondered what made him so determined, just what exactly did he want to protect so much?

She felt a strange sense of pride as she watched him meditate in the middle of the green field. Sakura supposed this is what teachers felt like seeing their students grow. Sighing contently, she leaned against a tree and began scraping the moss off its bark. She was thinking about going to train herself, since she felt like she betrayed her S-Class rank with her latest missions, when she sensed a familiar presence–

Obi let out a strangled sound and Sakura whipped her head around to check on him, seeing him lying on the ground. She hurried over to his side as he sat up, looking confused but deep in thought at the same time.

'Are you alright? Did something happen?' she asked.

Without sparing her a glance, Obi looked at his right hand. Sakura followed her gaze, catching a glimpse of a... spark?

That wasn't right. He'd been learning for less than two hours, he shouldn't be showing any real progress yet. She didn't even see him collect Ethernano, it was impossible for him to use magic. Unless…

'I'm not using this.'

Sakura blinked away her thoughts. 'Huh?'

'I'm not using this,' repeated Obi. He was still staring at his hand, except the look in his eyes changed.

'Wha–?'

He cut her off without explanation, curling his hand into a fist, 'Is there another way I can learn magic? A different one?'

'Uh, yes, they have books for that,' answered Sakura. 'Ne, Obi…' He finally gazed back at her, yellow eyes shining colder than she remembered. He most likely knew what she wanted to ask, even though she was hesitant about making a mistake she'd done before.

'Is one of your parents a mage?'

'Yes.'

Sakura expected him to ignore her, so to say she was surprised when he didn't was an understatement.

At the same time, she had no idea how to deal with the information.

'I-I see. I'm going to get a spell book for you, just wait here. Okay?'

Sakura then ran off, a peculiar feeling of nervousness bubbling inside her chest. Even though Obi seemed stiff, she felt like him sharing information with her about his family was a sign of an invisible wall between them breaking down just slightly, piece by piece, which were then built into that small amount of trust they had come to share already.

Obi on the other hand felt numb, and welcomed the feeling with familiarity. No emotion was better than painful emotions. He flexed his arms a few times, sensing the hollow feeling his experience left behind. The magic surging through his veins, the thrill of his heart when he realized he'd done it.

He couldn't even compare it to the feeling of dread that came afterwards. The drop of his stomach was like falling off his high was like leaping from a tall building. Having experienced it all, Obi came to appreciate the numbness that followed after.

He was disappointed when a sudden curiosity chased it away as a girl's head popped out from behind a tree. Her chocolate eyes were focused and her cherry blossom hair reminded him of Sakura.

'Could you be…?' she muttered, looking stupefied and at a loss for words. Her right hand flew to her left wrist, rubbing her skin.

She tried again, 'What do you want from that girl?'

Obi was intrigued simply by her unexpected appearance. He replied with a shrug, 'Right now? I guess the book she just went off to fetch.'

Her hands balled into fists as she averted her eyes. 'I can't really do anything, but I just need to ask you something.'

Now Obi was really curious. 'What is it?'

She took a deep breath and raised her eyes, but she seemed to stop as their gazes met. She exhaled and her shoulders relaxed, her eyes staring into his own all the while.

She eventually muttered, 'I don't get it.'

'I'm sorry?'

'You're not…' She suddenly shook her head, 'Nothing. I-I have to go.'

The girl bowed, thanked him, and ran off in the same direction Sakura had.

* * *

'You really shouldn't have come, you know. This might be too dangerous for you.'

'That's why I came! What if I'm not here and you need to fly somewhere?'

Gale held his head with a sigh. Barry was just too stubborn for his own good. He usually left the kitten behind when accepting a suspicious job request, but today Barry woke up with the most unbearably headstrong attitude he had ever shown, and refused to be left at home.

Gale wondered if it was because he finally reached exceed puberty.

'Have you even given this a thought?'

Gale averted his attention to Elise as she spoke up. Even though Gale knew she always got annoyed every time Barry and he made any kind of noise, right then she seemed calm and focused and absolutely undisturbed by him and his exceed partner.

'What?' he asked.

'Why did Master decide to take on Midnight Howl right now? Sure, it's a conspiratorial dark guild, but they haven't really done anything in the past month.'

'They've been way too quiet,' Thalia said, joining the discussion.

Both Gale and Elise became silent as they thought that statement over. The only sound that was heard was Barry's yawn as he made himself comfortable on Gale's head, and the faint whispering of trees when the wind blew by.

Minutes later, Thalia declared, 'You know something, don't you?'

Gale was confused.

'Huh?'

'What's with that tone?!' remarked Barry.

'Oh, you mean _him_ ,' muttered Elise.

Gale was even more confused.

'What do you mean?'

Thalia's steps halted. Elise turned her head and looked at Gale. Gale stared back, slightly intimidated.

Thalia turned around with a question, 'That's why you've been following us, right?'

Now Gale was afraid. That is, until he heard a rustling from a bush next to him, and Storm Fullbuster appeared in all his shirtless glory.

 _I didn't sense him at all,_ Gale thought sheepishly. _I need to pay more attention to my surroundings and less to my underage cat._

'Clothes,' was what Elise immediately said.

Storm sighed, 'I know.'

'What else do you know, then?' questioned Thalia as the boy put his shirt back on.

'Seth told me that Quatro Cerberus attempted to take them down.'

Elise furrowed her brows, 'And?'

'They received a nasty surprise,' Storm smirked bitterly.

Feeling uneasy, Gale asked, 'What exactly?'

Storm's gaze met the muddy ground as if he was thinking, playing with the hem of his coat. Barry climbed down onto Gale's shoulders, and he suppressed a yelp as the small cat began restlessly kneading his shoulder blades.

Thalia walked over to her brother, her right hand curling into a fist. She raised it above his head, and said, 'You keep whatever secret you want to keep, but if it turns out to be of life-threatening importance, I'll make you regret not saying anything sooner.'

She tapped her knuckles to the top of his head, and Storm's hands came up to slap hers away with an _ow_.

'We should get going,' Elise said with her hands on her hips. 'We can't be late to the meeting:'

Gale nodded in agreement, and took a step ahead, only to get stopped in his tracks right away.

Breath stopping and confusion settling in, he found himself face to face with three other people. If he didn't knew them, the white tiger on the blonde girl's waist would have confirmed their identities right away.

'You've got to be kidding me,' Elise grumbled.

The first person was a young man around their age, with dark hair tied in a spiky ponytail on the top of his head. Intelligence and prudence sparkled in his brown narrow eyes as they measured up the other team with a hint of annoyance. He wore a black T-shirt and a green jacket, his hands tucked in the pockets of his khaki green trousers.

The previously mentioned blonde girl's hair was tied into a long ponytail that reached down her back, her brown eyes unreadable. She wore a short dark blue vest with white fur trimmings on the hems over a white crop top, jeans shorts, black leggings and high-heeled ankle boots.

And then Gale almost didn't even notice the third person, for he looked like a shadow but Gale was certain he was solid and a person, and if Gale possessed a pair of glasses, he would've needed a moment to adjust them.

The third person on the team was a tall young man wearing black clothing, had black hair and small black eyes. Gale was no paranoid or neurotic, yet he was a little bit afraid to meet the guy's gaze.

The two teams continued to blink at each other in surprise, until the dark haired guy on the front – who Gale believed was the "Kage guy" that the girls usually teased Elise about – pointed at them and asked, 'Why did you bring one extra person?'

Elise, face red from indignation – or embarrassment, Gale really couldn't tell – replied, 'We didn't, he–'

'Hey!' Barry cut in, huffing. He spread his wings and flew into the guy's face, 'They brought _two_ more!'

The guy stared at Barry unblinkingly. He slowly raised his eyebrows, then said, 'You're a flying, talking cat.'

'Haven't you heard of exceeds?'

'I have,' the guy nodded, 'but they're still just cats, you know.'

Barry gasped loudly, 'Well… y-you look like a pineapple, you know!'

Sweatdropping, Gale yanked him from the air. 'This is not how you greet new people, Barry,' he whispered harshly into his ear, and tugged on it just for good measure.

'If you have a problem with us having two more people,' here Barry hummed in approval at Elise's words, 'then we have a problem with _her_.'

A lot of time has passed since the blonde tiger humiliated their teammate, but Fairy Tail wasn't the kind of guild to forget something like that so easily.

'Are you serious?' asked Kagesomething, irritation clear in his voice. 'Holding a grudge is unhealthy, Elise. Besides, people change.'

Elise crossed her arms, 'Her? Change?'

'She has a name,' the shadow dude spoke up. _I think his name is Cole_.

'Kiara,' Thalia said, her tone cold and rattling against Gale's eardrums, like ice clanked against metal, like he'd never heard it before. 'Right?'

Kiara replied, 'Thalia, right?'

'Have you changed?' Thalia asked.

Kiara's shoulders tensed, but her back straightened and she looked directly into the other girl's eyes, 'Yes.'

'Tch,' Elise spat.

Strangely enough, Gale was on the same page as Elise, which had never once happened in the history of them knowing each other.

The sparks that Elise's remark awakened in the eyes of the blonde didn't help him in believing her words, either.

'Elise!'

Elise growled, 'I'm not a naïve child, Kagemaru.' _Oh, yeah, that's what his name is!_ 'I don't believe in fairytales anymore. I'm not going to be fooled by this bi–.'

'That's enough!' Cole thundered. 'Believe whatever you want to, we're not here to argue about this.'

'Even though we could,' Elise bit back.

'Let's get to the meeting point,' Thalia said, no, _ordered_ , and Elise looked taken aback for a moment before turning on her heels and walking away.

Thalia turned to Storm, who seemed slightly agitated because of the argument, 'You're coming with us.'

It was clear from the moment Storm appeared that he would follow them all the way, thus Gale had a feeling she said that specifically to annoy Kagemaru and his companions with their extra fairy. Which was, by all means, a slyly brilliant way to get under the tigers' skin.

* * *

The meeting place was a small wooden house, its windows peeking out meekly from behind green foliage as it stood subtly in the middle of the forest.

How they intended to fit 12 people into that thing was a mystery to Gale.

Maybe that's why they shouldn't have brought Storm with.

The door creaked as Kagemaru opened it, revealing an unexpectedly large room with a long wooden table and many chairs. Stepping inside, Gale realized their teams arrived last, most likely because of the small bickering episode.

Three heads turned in their direction from another team whose members were sat at the table, seemingly in the middle of a discussion.

Lastly, two girls were standing by the wall – Gale didn't understand why, Mavis knew there were enough chairs for an army – looking slightly uncomfortable if their fidgeting was anything to go by.

'This is embarrassing,' said one of them. 'Everybody came in groups of three, except us.'

Gale raised an eyebrow.

She was _pink_. Correction, she was only wearing pink, but a _lot_ of pink. She had a frilly skirt and shoulder pads and a corset on, with knee high leggings and questionably tall high heels. Her dark skin and black hair in high pigtails were a stark contrast to the blues of her eyes, and as she twirled a strand of hair between her fingers her collection of rings impressed Gale so much he quickly gave up on counting them.

'Why didn't you?' Kagemaru spoke up, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

The other one said, 'The third member assigned to this mission got sick this morning, so we had to leave without her.'

Gale needed less time to recognize her as Uriel Vastia, a well-known S-Class Ice mage, who Gale was terrified of because of an incident involving ice shards and manic chases back when they were kids.

He shuddered at the memory.

Her long snow white hair covered her shoulders in two large braids, her green eyes piercing as she met his own. Gale had no doubt she was remembering his childhood trauma, and the smirk slowly forming on her lips were only proving him right. Her vivid blue, off the shoulders dress hugged her lean frame, ending at the middle of her thighs on the front and at the middle of her calves on the back. It seemed completely inconvenient for the kind of job they were sent to do, which prospectively involved fighting, but Gale knew better – she most likely hid some kind of weapon in there, or at least something that had the potential to injure somebody. Which perfectly suited Uriel's personality – elegant and sophisticated at first glance, but a true nightmare once you got to spend more than an hour in her presence.

'You can't be serious,' Kagemaru growled, pinching the bridge of his nose as if it was the only thing keeping him from going insane. Gale would've said it probably was. 'What if we lose just because our numbers weren't big enough? That one person could mean our survival.'

Elise chose that moment to retort, 'Really? An hour ago you seemed pissed about our plus one.'

'That's different.'

'How so?'

'So many beautiful ladies! I can't believe my eyes!' exclaimed one guy as he stood from the table, looking like Christmas came early. He wore a light pink shirt tucked into a black suit with the Blue Pegasus symbol on his left shoulder. His shiny blonde hair was obviously tortured with a ton of hairspray to stay stylishly messy, framing his round face and emphasizing his bright blue eyes.

'Hideki-kun!' shrieked the pink girl with delight.

Hideki flashed her a sweet smile, 'I didn't mean you, Kelly, of course.'

Kelly clearly didn't like that, as she cried out, 'How mean!'

'Of course you are pretty, Kelly!' said another guy. He began to visibly sweat right away, spluttering, 'M-Maybe not. Or yes? I-I mean, you are pretty. Are you?'

He threw himself in the corner with a loud _ugh_ , crouched down and hugged his knees. His hands gripped his blonde hair and his light brown eyes were screwed shut in embarrassment. Gale could hear his whimpers from all over the other side of the room.

Sweatdropping, Hideki pat his shoulders, 'It's okay, Yuki. One day you'll master the art of seducing women.'

'Hopefully not from you, though,' Uriel snorted.

Yuki seemed to be about 16 years old, wearing a big green coat with grey fur trimmings on the hood. His simple blue jeans were almost grey, probably because it had been washed so many times. The same thing could be said about his once white sneakers: his right shoe's laces were orange while the left one's were halfway to turning grey.

'He just needs more confidence.'

Gale shifted his attention to the source of the childlike voice to find a small boy with reddish brown hair and acid green eyes, still sitting on a chair, swinging his legs as they weren't long enough to reach the floor. He was wearing jeans overall shorts, a white T-shirt and blue sneakers. Gale noticed his socks had colorful dinosaurs on them, and that was the moment he started to doubt that either Plue Pegasus or Lamia Scale took this job seriously.

'My name's Jun,' he smiled. 'It's nice to meet you.'

At least he was polite. Although Gale could immediately imagine how many customers he must have in the bar of the Blue Pegasus guildhall, being cute and well-mannered and 12 years old at most.

After proper introductions from Fairy Tail and Sabertooth's side, Hideki – surprisingly – began to speak. Gale soon found out that Blue Pegasus was tasked with forming a battle plan – unfortunately it left some things to be questioned.

'Why are we having a meeting out in the woods?' Uriel inquired instantly.

Hideki answered, 'Having a meeting in a pub would be suspicious.'

'How is having a meeting out in the woods next to town not suspicious?' Kagemaru joined in, 'If anything, meeting in a bar would cause less suspicion. Crowding right outside a town is just–'

Hideki cleared his throat, 'Listen, the master came up with the plan.'

'Oh, dear,' Uriel sighed.

'While I do respect Ichiya-san, I–'

'How about I just tell you everything and _then_ you can criticize?' growled Hideki, obviously frustrated. Gale felt a little bad.

Just a little.

Exhaling, Hideki continued, 'As you all know, Midnight Howl is a dark guild that specializes in assassination, which means we have to be cautious about every little step, otherwise we're practically dead from the start. That's why, first, we pick the teams according to our magic type and level–'

'That's a horrible idea,' Kagemaru cut him off.

Hideki just rolled his eyes, waiting for him to continue.

'We shouldn't split up the teams our masters assigned us to. Our guildmates know the limits of our abilities and our fighting styles. Even if we choose new teams the way you said, the trust and shared experience will be completely lost. Without those, we're just independent newbies trying not to trip over each other's feet.'

'Could you just get to the technical part of the plan?' Elise groaned.

'I'm trying,' Hideki grumbled as he leaned against the table for support. 'Alright, fine. The four _already existing_ teams will try to get into the guild building from four sides–'

This time Kelly interrupted, 'How are we going to find the place?'

'Its location isn't exactly secret,' Yuki spoke up.

'We know it's in this town, but we still don't know which building it is. I assume they at least _try_ to hide from the prying eyes of the Magic Council,' Uriel quipped.

'We can find it easily,' Kagemaru said. He pointed at Kiara, 'Dragon Slayer,' then at Cole, 'Dragon Slayer,' and then finally at Gale, 'Dragon Slayer.'

Kelly's eyes widened, sparkling with interest as he gaped at three with a little longer than would've been acceptable. Gale wondered if Kiara and Cole felt just as uncomfortable as he did.

Hideki sighed again, 'So, Sabertooth will take West, Lamia Scale East, Fairy Tail South and we will take North.'

Gale nodded, 'Sounds easy enough.'

'We need you to locate the exact coordinates first,' Hideki said, opening up his Archive and typing something in. 'However, I'm afraid we do have to make some alterations to the teams.'

He stopped typing and looked at Storm, stilling for a moment. Gale saw out of the corner of his eye that the boy was already shirtless, restlessly fiddling with the garments in his hand.

Hideki eventually cleared his throat and pointed at him, 'You're going with Lamia Scale.'

With her skirt swirling, Kelly did a little victory dance. 'Yay! Hottie is coming with us!'

'Can I not?' Storm looked pleadingly at his sister.

Thalia didn't budge. 'This way we'll have three-man cells,' she said. 'Put your clothes back on.'

'After we get in, our main objective is to defeat as many henchmen as possible. They may be lower class mages, but there's many of them, and they developed their magic specifically to increase damage with their scythes. So be careful,' Hideki said as he continued to type. 'According to the statistics made from their reported attacks and bodies of their victims, they have some higher class mages that nobody has ever seen. Or they just didn't live long enough to share any useful information.'

'What about the guild master?' Kagemaru asked, his face set in a frown, as if he already knew the answer.

'There are some rumors going around, but again, nobody has ever really met them.' Hideki rubbed his neck, stubbornly staring at his magical screen, 'I guess our best chance is to just avoid them.'

'Let's hope he's out of town, then,' was Elise's remark.

'Aren't we supposed to catch the master to completely shut down a guild?' was Kagemaru's.

'If one team runs into them, we could call each other,' Cole suggested.

Kiara glanced at him, asking, 'How will we know if we've got the right person?'

'Trust me, you'll know,' Hideki said, hitting one last key before closing his Archive.

Above everybody's heads a progress bar appeared, which slowly loaded, revealing every single existing information about the guild master's possible identity, and Gale suddenly knew the guy will be hard to miss.

* * *

'You went to bed early,' was what Calico greeted Luna with.

She was already sitting on the green couch, her black gown and dark red lipstick a stark contrast to her pale skin.

'Tired?'

Luna said, 'I wanted to talk to you.'

'That's not exactly healthy,' Calico replied, blowing a strand of hair from her face. Luna seemed to recall another time Calico had done that, she wondered if that was a habit she retained from when she was alive.

'That person you talked about – he's not dangerous!'

Calico's face remained blank, as usual, yet Luna sensed how the room became colder. 'How would you know?'

'I met him.'

'And he had told you his entire life story, so you deemed him harmless?'

'No, we only said a few words to each other, but–'

'But you're so great at reading people that you immediately noticed he has no intentions to cause any sort of problems.'

'Yes.'

Calico snorted, real unladylike, jerking her head to the side and Luna wrapped her hands around her torso as she felt the chill of her disapproval seeping into her bones.

'You might not believe this, but…' she sighed. 'I knew it right away when I looked into his eyes. I'd known with Tao, too.'

While that seemed to get Calico's attention, she still wasn't about to trust a little girl's naivety.

'When I looked into his eyes,' Luna echoed, 'he looked sincere. His looks, they're a little bit misleading, but I know he's not an enemy.'

'Just from the look in his eyes?' Calico asked softly. Luna was taken aback by the sudden change in her demeanor, and her nod was slow yet definite as she struggled to come up with some kind of reply.

'What exactly did you see in his eyes?'

Luna sat down on the green couch and pondered on that.

'I saw curiosity and mistrust… and something else. He was troubled, but he was almost content in that moment.'

Calico looked up and her gaze met Luna's. She muttered, 'What do you see in mine?'

'I…' Luna faltered. Due to the woman's questionable existence she was practically see-through in Luna's mind, and that's exactly how she appeared in front of her. All she could see was black, as if she was staring into her eye sockets.

The thought was jarring, so Luna quickly looked away.

'That bad, huh?' Calico smiled humorlessly.

'N-No! No, that's not it!' Luna flapped her arms around in defense. 'It's just that… I can't really, um…'

Calico huffed out a short laugh, 'I know. I just thought...'

Luna blinked at her, confused, then blinked again, twice, three times, and suddenly she was staring at the white ceiling of her room. Something warm and hairy touched her chin, and she rolled off the bed, startled.

A pair of glowing red eyes were observing her from between the ruffled sheets. Luna exhaled in relief, scratching Tao behind his ears.

She was somehow used to the cat spirit's peculiar independency, as he enjoyed coming in and out of his gate. He never spent more than an hour out, however, most likely because of the very first incident, involving a near-death situation Luna landed herself in.

'Is everything alright?' she asked, wondering why he woke her up in the middle of the night.

She couldn't tell the exact time, but it was pitch black outside, the stars clouded by an incoming storm.

'Have you talked to your sister?' Tao inquired.

Luna frowned, 'No, ever since she came home, we haven't had the chance.'

'But you were spying on her yesterday.'

'I-I might have,' Luna said, fiddling with Tao's tail.

'Don't you want to ask her about that guy?'

Luna dropped her hands in her lap and looked at the spirit. Once again, she wasn't surprised he knew what she'd been doing. He simply knew these things, and Luna saw no harm in that.

'I have no reason to,' she answered.

Tao flicked his tail.

'Do you… want me to?' she asked, unsure. 'Do you not trust him?'

Tao jumped off the sheets and stretched. 'If you asked her, you'd get more information about him. I want to make sure you're safe.'

Luna's smile was grateful as he picked him up and lay back on the bed with him at her side. He purred as she began to pet him, closing her eyes. She felt safe, and sleepy, until the texture under her hand changed.

She opened one eye and snuck a peek at the orange-haired boy sleeping soundly next to her. She immediately felt her face burn as she pushed him off with a muffled scream.

Heart racing, Luna clutched a pillow to her face, hearing Tao's quiet cackles before hearing him puff out of existence.

* * *

 **Quote is from the book Our Chemical Hearts by Krystal Sutherland.**

 **Also I only realized this later, but Uriel unintentionally turned into Elsa. I really didn't mean to do that, I don't even like Frozen.**


End file.
